Advent Against Time
by Matdeception
Summary: An obsession born from guilt, a cursed child just trying to make the best of eternity, and an Uchiha surprise... sounds like a story if you ask me.
1. Chapter 1

Advent against Time

Written By: Matdeception

Disclaimer: That guy who did that thing that time owns Naruto, and I own the keyboard I'm using to write this message with. Maybe, patents still pending.

AN: This is another story dealing with Advent!Naruto. If you are unaware of him, imagine a pathologically insane serial killer who slowly rediscovers his humanity as he is forcibly thrusted from timeline to timeline ala a method similar to Quantum Leap staring Scott Bakula.

-0-0-0-0-

Advent Against Time: Prologue

Shattered Perceptions

-0-0-0-0-

He was aware, yet not. He could smell that faint scent of dried mud mixed with the sharp aroma of blood. He could smell the wood, the remnants of a finisher that had seeped into the surface. Light, he could feel the light... the subtle heat of illumination cast off by its source that gently caressed his skin, but he could not pinpoint its direction.

He knew he hated this, hated being trapped between the world of the living and the void of death. Why he hated it, he wasn't sure, only that he did. Wake, he thought, wake up and face the truth! Wake up and face something other then utter oblivion...

Wake.

His eyes flashed open, orbs of curelean blue shining breifly in the darkness of night. Light glittered overhead, shattered into fracturing lines by the blinds covering the window. Turning his head, he looked at a simple wooden chair set in the corner. On it he could see the dirtied torn remains of a shirt, covered in mud intermingled with the faintest strips of blood. He shut his eyes, squeezing them tight as a wave of vertigo passed over him, sending shivering tingles that did nothing but aggravate the intense feeling of loss he felt.

Naruto groaned, leaning over the side of the bed just as vomit spewed forth. He retched what remained of his last meal; retched until he started dry heaving, kept wretching even as his chest exploded in agony with each convulsive twitch. The agony tapered off in time, how long he spent there spewing over the hardwood floors he couldn't track. Shakily he pulled the covers off, and moved to stand. The floor was cold, distinctly uncomfortable against his bare flesh as he stepped through the darkened room. He found the bathroom, felt the cold wood of the floor switch to cold tile as he stepped up to the sink. He fumbled for the faucet, turning the slightly rusty knob and enduring the familiar echo of pipes creaking behind the walls as ice cold water came tumbling free.

He dipped his hand in the water, hissing slightly as the water touched flesh. Like vertible ice needles, the water assaulted his hand, sending waves of agony up his arm to hammer in his brain. He steeled himself, enduring the torment as he cupped the water and splashed himself across the face once, then twice. He took deep, shuddering breaths as he stood there in the dark, trying desperatly to organize his thoughts and just make sense of it all.

Slowly he raised his gaze, looking into the mirror above the sink curiously. His face looked back, his young smooth face with the tell tale signs of childhood fat present in his cheeks. Slowly, ever so slowly he ran his fingers across the deep lined birthmarks across his cheeks. Marks that could easily be considered scars, wounds inflicted on him by some deranged lunatic with a fetish for knives, but were simple echos of a most curious gestation within his mothers womb.

He sighed, shaking that train of thought free, "Another jump, another life." he looked into the mirror again, a slight frown marring his cherub features, "Young body, six, seven years old." that slight frown turned into a glare, as he noticed the blood leaking from his nose. Tentatively he touched it, smearing the ruby red essense of life between his fore finger and thumb. "What the hell happened this time?"

Naruto frowned, eyeing his torn up apartment irritably. Just as he had done in many of his past jumps, he had torn his home apart looking for clues, evidence, something that could illuminate his current life and situation. And like his previous body jumps, what he had found was not to his liking. Not one bit.

He opened a notebook, eyeing the talented sketchings with a half interested look before flipping the pages to a clean, unused page. He put pencil to paper, writing down everything he had learned, or at least suspected about his current life. A curosory examination of the calender had proven his initial assessment correct, he was nearing his seventh birthday and would soon, if this life adhered to the general standard of living his previous lives had usually followed, be enrolling in the Academy in the spring.

Naruto frowned, contemplating the possibility the him in this life had no interest in becoming a shinobi, before throwing that thought away. He was reasonably healthy, lived in the apartment he had lived in whenever he had been the Kyuubi's container, which meant him joining the Academy would be unavoidable. Once upon a time he liked to think he had a choice in the matter, when in truth he never did. Sarutobi, old sap that he was, had to make concessions to keep the likes of Danzou, or other war touting simpletons from demanding he be turned over and moulded into some kind of super soldier. One such concession was the Academy, one way or another the powers that be in Konoha were going to make him into a weapon, this was just what Sarutobi considered the kindest of ways. The illusion of choice... pfeh.

Next on his list were the results of his physical examination. As expected from a body so young, he lacked anything even remotely considered chakra coils. Oh, they were there, they had to be if he wanted to keep breathing, but by his standards they might as well not be there. Physically, he was about where he expected he'd be given his age, not strong, weak but possessing the limberness that only children could possess. That was good and bad, for he hated being weak, but the possibility of exploiting his flexibility, pushing it to heights he'd never been able to possess in his previous jumps, made the prospect of training from such a... nonexistant state interesting.

Yet... there was something else there that was cause for alarm. Slight scarring across his frontol lobe, the kind of scarring that could be caused in any number of ways, but for the residual chakra present. These scars were the result of an attack, Genjutsu if he had to guess. Whoever had done it, however, he could not put his finger on. The trace amount of Chakra had degraded to the point that the only thing he could be sure of was the fact it wasn't his.

Naruto grimaced at that. The fact he wasn't a flaming vegtible had to be due to his unnatural luck, it was a miracle honestly, he could only count his lucky stars he had entered this body before whoever had done this had finished melting his brain. While he could repair the damage as it was now, if his brain had been melted he would be too disrupted mentally to even realize he was a flaming vegtible.

He sighed, shaking his head as he circled that particular item on his list. He'd need to deal with that immediatly, repair the damage and set up mental barriers to give whoever the hell was doing it one nasty surprise when they eventually came back. The fact he needed to deal with it now was entirely the problem, though. Without chakra coils worth a damn, he'd have to tap heavily in the dumb foxes chakra, and given he hadn't had near enough time to attune the bastards chakra to this body he was going to be forced to use unpurified demonic chakra, which could only have one outcome in all this.

Migraines. Ugh, life was so unfair.

Still, the possibility of migraines versus waking up one day to find your brain a pile of mushy jam made the choice an easy one. He clumsily formed the seal of the rat, forcing his consciousness into that place between spaces, where the might of the Kyuubi laid dormant within him.

-0-0-0-

Time... time, how much time had passed? He woke, eyeing the broken remains of his table, the strong wood cracked and shattered beneath him. Books, laid around him in haphazard positions, kicked to and fro as he endured the first wave of pain after finishing with the Kyuubi's chakra. Naruto gazed at the window, the afternoon sun shining brightly without, casting their lumination like solar hell daggars digging into his brain.

He grimaced, turning away from the painful light. Managing to stand, he stumbled his way towards the door, grabbing the brass tarnished handle and opening the door. He was almost out in the hall when he realized just what he was doing. Now wasn't the time to explore Konoha, not when he only just barely recovered from setting up his mental barriers. He was weak, starving, and in no mood to play games, yet... why?

Why did he move for the door? It was like a need had swelled within him, but a need for what? Naruto frowned at that feeling, mentally teasing it, testing it, hoping that he'd gain some kind of glimmer from it. He got nothing, but that didn't stop the nagging thoughts that he needed to go, he needed to be some where soon. Needed to meet some...

Naruto sighed, shaking his head. Echo's of who he was, instinctually need like a physical attachment, thats what this feeling was. The life this body lived before he arrived needed to be somewhere, demanded they get there soon. It was a mistake, he knew, to walk into Konoha with out figuring out the way of things. For all he knew he could be walking into a city that pelted him with rocks whenever they saw him, or worse, outright ignored his existance.

That need he did not understand flared within him again, and he relented. Better to go with it, better to see it through, if only to calm himself. He shut the door behind him, moved down the stairs to the buildings front door, and stepped into the great unknown.

Naruto catalogued what he observed, of the people going too and fro, of how their boistrious conversations turned into low, dark mumbling as he passed them by. What were they saying? He didn't know, and honestly didn't care. It seemed in this world they didn't resort to physical violence at the sight of him, which was a pity. Physical violence could be faced, fought, and eventually defeated. Being ignored, being seen and avoided rather then confronted was a worse fate to his aged mind. You could not fight this directly, you could not change the way people acted with out proving you weren't what they said you were.

He was tired of proving anything to anyone, and no longer felt the need to just to gain their acceptance. He had accepted himself, the mostly bad, and slight good that comprised just who he was inside. To hell with these people, he didn't care about them and they certainly didn't care about him.

"Bah!" he snapped, shaking his head tiredly. Dark thoughts, with potentially dark consequences. The question, of course, was whether these thoughts were his own, or were the residual thoughts of the life he had just stepped into. He did not know the answer, but he would think on it.

-0-0-0-

His walk through Konoha took him to several places, from the Konoha Market to several outlying parks, monuments, and even the occasional training ground. He couldn't help but feel like he was looking for something... or someone, but damned if he knew just what... or who it was. The sojoun eventually meandered into a bustling park, filled with children running to and fro, their jubilant laughs echoing high on the slight wind and carrying far and wide.

Naruto walked the sidewalk, passing parents who sat on the benches staggered about the path. He watched them, as they in turn watched him, eyeing him should he cross some invisible line and come to close to their oh so precious children playing. What would they do if he crossed that invisible line, he wondered? Would they come screaming and yelling at him, or what they simply collect their children and move on? It didn't mattered.

Eventually he spotted a mostly vacant bench, filled with two young lovers who cuddled at one end, their eyes all hearts and stars as they stared and softly conversed with the other. Naruto would have just passed them by honestly, not particularly a fan of open displays of affection that tettered on the edge of sugary overload, yet he found he could not. The bench, their was something about it, something that called him, tempted him to stay awhile and relax. He took a seat on the opposite end of the bench, ignoring the lovers who were only idly aware some one else had sat near them.

He was happy to ignore them, as they seemed happy to ignore him. Eyes drifting, he could see the swings nearby, make out the gritty grain of the sand that surrounded the public swings. The wind, he could see it moving, not with his eyes but with his flesh, it's soft kiss across his skin oddly comforting. Yet, it was the trees that caught his attention. The way they stood their, majestic, unmoving, uttley frozen in time if not for their branches, their millions of leaves swaying oh so gently in the breeze. Why he bothered to take notice of it, Naruto didn't know, but notice it he did.

And then... it happened. A bird, white as snow if not for several black markings across it's feathers that marred its surface, took respite upon one of those trees. His alien mind caught that sight, burned the image within his memories before it began teasing it's details out. Naruto wondered at that, even as his mind noticed shades, colorings, and how it all came together and formed a full, complete picture.

He had never taken notice of such a thing in the past, it was like he... or who he was before the jump, had trained his mind to capture such images. To dissect them and store them for later, yet why he would...

The sketchings. Naruto blinked, remembering the notebook and the curious sketchings he had only glanced over in his search for paper to make his list. He... or rather, the he who he was, liked to sketch. An artist...

"Oi!" A childs voice, unfamiliar, yet with an undercurrent of dangerous intent.

Naruto blinked the image of the bird away, glancing around for the owner of that voice. All at once he noticed several things, but nothing more unerving then the fact the sun had all but set while he had been sitting there. Had he lost track of time because of something so simple as a bird? The bird... he couldn't see it anywhere, it must have taken flight long ago, but he hadn't noticed? That was unerving, very much so.

"You little shit!" that voice again, only that undercurrent was gone, present instead in the voices angry tone.

He spied a trio of boys, twelve, maybe thirteen years old, glaring in front of him. They possessed no Hiai-tae, no pouches containing kunai, wire, or any of the many assorted odds and ends that would mark them as nin. The leader, a shaggy brown haired boy with a lean face dotted with freckles sneered at him, his two goon friends, a blond and a black haired boy respectfully, adopted similar postures, oozing menance and danger.

"What do you want?" Naruto asked warily, eyeing the area for other people. The lovers that were at his side in what seemed a scant moment ago were gone, the park had been dwindling in population and was now a mere reflection of what it had once been. The setting sun cast terrible shadows everywhere, so much so it was rather dizzying just to see it all.

The Leader snorted, cracking his knuckles, "Thought we told you last time, we never wanted to see you around here again!"

"Kid doesn't hear too good, Jiro." the blond goon chuckled, a sound that came off as a cross between a fat porcine and a baby rattle, "Guess bein nice just ain't enough to teach the twerp his lesson."

Jiro grunted, grabbing Naruto by his shirt and forcibly pulling him off the bench, "No doubt Masaki, no doubt." his eyes hardened, brown orbs glaring angrily into curelean blue, "Might need to teach this one his lesson the hard way, eh?"

Eyes narrowing, Naruto felt his anger rise, an anger he was absolutely certain wasn't his own. "Get your hands off me." he snarled.

"Oh, he's acting tough!" The black haired goon chuckled at that, cracking his fists, "Might be right, man. This kid deserves a lesson he'll never forget."

"Heh..." Jiro pulled back his free hand, clenching his fist that could only mean one thing.

That alien anger crystalized, not into the hot fury he had been expecting, but the cold, tactical rage he only ever felt when he faced people that truly, absolutely had to die. In that split second he had to decide whether to ignore it, to change what his body wanted done, or to follow it.

He followed it.

Naruto gripped the hand handing him up by the shirt, allowing the breifest of wisps of Kyuubi's chakra to flow into his body as he mightily pulled himself up and headbutted Jiro square in the face. There was an audible crack of bone and cartlidge breaking, following by a squeal of pain as the boy let him go and staggered back, holding his broken bleeding mess of a nose protectively.

Naruto fell to the ground as the others stared at their bleeding boss in a cow dumb stupor. He grabbed two rocks, whos jagged rough surface bit into his flesh as he gripped them tightly, they oddly resembled knives.

Jiro snarled despite the pain, "I'm going to kill you!"

That seemed to shock the other boys back into action. The blond lunged forward arkwardly, fist pulled back to deliever a viscious haymaker. Naruto threw one of those stones, managing to catch the boy in the knee and send him to his knees. Despite the agony the boy had to be feeling even from that glancing hit, he managed to throw his fist forward, but Naruto had been ready for it.

Stepping into the blow, he caught the boy's arm with his own, wrapping it around it's length and lifting up at the joint, locking it into position. The doe brown eyes of the blond stared at him in shock, a shock that soon turned into uncomprimising fear as Naruto brought up the other rock and slammed it down with all his might, peircing flesh, scraping bone, and tearing the cartlidge at the boys joint.

Naruto let the other boy go, his uselss arm sparying blood even as he screamed in surprised agony from the strike. His world erupted in pain as something slammed him in the cheek, throwing him to the ground roughly. Dazed, Naruto only idly realized the other boy had slammed him with a viscious punch, and was following up his attack with a wicked kick to his ribs. One hit, two, then so many more as Jiro joined in on stomping him into the ground.

Desperatly he reached around, trying to grab something even as he felt his ribs breaking on the pressure of the repeated kicks. He felt something then, a jagged surface wet with blood. He risked a look, it was the stone he had thrown at the first boy. He grabbed it, allowing more Kyuubi chakra to enter his system as he forced his beaten and almost broken body up. He caught the leg of one of his attackers and slammed the jagged rock into his thigh, ripping it out and stabbing the boy in the calf. The black haired goon went down screaming the high pitched scream of agony.

Jiro backed off at his friend went down, eyes wide at he sight of both his friends screaming and bleeding all over the place.

Naruto struggled to his feet, the burning pain of his broken ribs all but threatneing to throw him unconcious with each movement. He weakly raised the bloody dagger-like-rock, snarling through broken and blood drenched teeth, "Chi... chicken shit."

Jiro took one look at the rock weilding maniac, his downed friends, then he screamed, "I'm telling mom on you!" before turning to run. He didn't quite make it, running smack dab into a dark cloaked figure with a white procelain mask that reflected brightly off the setting sun that it was almost blinding.

Naruto snorted, dropping the rock even as other ANBU shushined into existance. It figures they'd be watching him, it also figured that they wouldn't step in until the last minute, worthless redshirts. They grabbed his arms, unmindful of his gasps of pain as they forcibly threw him to the ground and held him there. He didn't care, allowing his senses to dull as unconsciousness began to take hold.

Yet, even as oblivion began to claim him he saw someone. A woman standing far away, with wavy black hair that fell to her shoulders, with eyes of ruby red... and he knew, as that cold anger in him abated and a sense of contentment filled him up inside that this was who this body wanted to see, this woman he could barely make out was all he had wanted to find...

He smiled at her even as the touch of unconsciousness claimed him.

-0-0-0-

Naruto eyed the stoic ANBU standing near the door, acting the part of the silent sentinel to such a tee he couldn't help but be honestly impressed. As famous as they were for being the utterly still, quiet manniquins that launched into action as their orders demanded, he knew them to be anything but. Oh sure, several were able to maintain the facade for a breif period of time, but only breifly. This one, he had been watching them for hours, admiring the genderless form of the person and trying to puzzle out if he was a he, or if he was a she. Well, whoever they were he could tell they were new to the role. The utterly plain, white mask lacked any identifying features, which meant they were newly inducted and had yet to earn a distinction among the ranks. Just who were they...

The idle speculation passed the time at anyrate. Ever sense waking up in the hospital, chained to the bed by his wrists and ankles, he found he had a lot of time on his hands. He tried thinking of the events that led up here, to the bird that had so captivated him, the three idiots who had tried to beat him up, and even the woman that his body had yearned to see. Thinkin on her now, he only had an indisinct image, but more puzzeling was the complete lack of emotion attached to the image. He had felt relief when he had seen her, contentment, even joy... but now, now he felt nothing. Was seeing her this bodies last bit of cartharsis before it accepted who he was now belonged to the greater whole? Just who was she? What was her link to this body, and was it something he should be concerned about?

Naruto grimaced, banishing those thoughts as a very real problem came to the foreground. He had an itch... on the edge of his nose. He tried leaning down far enough so he could scratch it with his chained hands, but his hurt ribs denied that action. He tried to twist around and grind his face into the mattress, but like before his ribs reminded him just how hurt he was, and how much moving caused that pain to explode.

"Oi! ANBU!" he almost pitifully mewed, "Itch, on my nose! Please scratch it!"

The ANBU had to have heard him, but move they did not. He begged for a few more minutes, but whoever this redshirt was they obviously didn't care that he was laying on this bed enduring an agony worse then Tsunade's attempts at home cooking.

"Gah!" he squirmed slightly, "I'll get you for this, ANBU! You'll rue the day, I swear to god!"

The door suddenly opened as the Hokage entered. His brown robes tied in place by a similar colored sash, with an eye-sore of a tri-formed hat emblazened with the kanji for fire, combined with the deep crevices that had one been mere wrinkles and his kind eyes completed the picture. "Naru..."

"Nose. Scratch. Now. Please!" Naruto interjected, making funny faces, his chains clinking as he tried to reach up and scratch the annoying itch but couldn't.

Sarutobi chuckled lightly, stepping up to the bed and scratching his nose gently. Naruto almost purred into the scratch, finding a contentment one could only find after being tormented for an eternity only to have that torment dissolved.

"Thanks." the blond said finally, relaxing into the stiff as a board bed.

The old man shook his head, glancing at the chains binding the him to the bed. "These won't be nessicary." he said, gesturing towards them

The sole ANBU stepped forward, "Hokage-sama, he attacked three civi..."

"All of whom admitted they instigated the confrontation." Sarutobi coldly interrupted, "Remove the bindings, now."

Naruto watched, amused, as the ANBU moved towards the bed and began undoing his bindings. He noticed her gloved hands, with fingers far to slender for a man's and wondered just who this was. Once done, the mysterious ANBU returned to her position along the wall, resuming the role of the silent sentinal.

Sarutobi locked eyes with him, there was a seriousness within them tinged only with the slightest bit of remorse. "How are you feeling, lad?"

Ah, pleasantries and platitudes before he'd get to the point. Naruto rolled his eyes inwardly, typical old man. "Gave more then I got."

"Yes... you did at that." Sarutobi sighed softly at that, "Rather brutally at that." his gaze turned slightly serious, "Why?"

Naruto frowned, "Eh..." What to say, what to say? He decided to fall back on Childish Bullshit excuse number three; Make your stand. "... just got tired of it, y'know?"

"Tired of it?" the Old man moved to clarify, "Tired of what?"

"Tired of being pushed around..." Naruto shrugged uncomfortably, "... comes a time, y'know, when you gotta stand up and say 'No. Not one more second.'"

"These boys have been harassing you for some time then?"

"Eh..." Naruto shrugged, "Not really, they were just the ones who pushed me over the edge."

Sarutobi stared at him for a time, before letting out a long, tired sigh. "Naruto, I'm disappointed in you."

The boy just shrugged, "I don't really care."

That shocked the old man, who looked back askance at what he just heard. He looked to say something, but Naruto cooly cut in, "There isn't anything to care about here, is there?" he spat angrily, "Every day it's the same thing, every day it's people going out of their way to ignore me, to keep me pushed aside and alone while everyone else gets to live their lives." he glared at Sarutobi, "I'm stuck on the outside, watching what life could be like, but never able to live it. Why the heck should I care about what anyone thinks?"

"They're good people here Naruto..." Sarutobi defended, voice tight and suspiciously angry, "... you just need to prove to them you're worth there attention, there love."

"Bah!" the blond boy snorted, "Only people who get any love or respect are nin, and I ain't one of them."

"You could be." Sarutobi intoned softly.

Naruto eyed him suspiciously, "I could?"

"Of course you could. I've been meaning to talk to you about it, in fact." Sarutobi said disarmingly, "And given what just happened, it might be the best thing for you."

"Best for me?" the blond boy frowned, "Why?"

"Well..." the old man sighed, "Your actions, while justifiable, is cause for concern. Joining the Academy will calm many upset people, and teach you discipline, control, and help you become a Nin worthy of respect."

"Is this some kind of sales pitch?" the boy asked curiously.

"Why, are you interested?" came the old man's wiry reply.

Naruto frowned thoughtfully. Truthfully, he didn't give two shits about the Academy. He knew everything he needed to know if he wanted to train himself up outside of Konoha's oppresive military direction, he certainly wouldn't learn anything new there. Yet, on the otherhand, if he joined that comes with all the benefits being a member to a hidden village entailed. Also... well, he knew he didn't have a choice really. If he said no now, they'ed come up with some other way to force the issue, or worst case scenario they hand him off to Danzou. Bah...

An idea struck him then...

"I'll do it, on two conditions old man." Naruto replied cryptically, a slightly sinister smile growing on his lips.

"Conditions?" The old man raised an eyebrow at that, "What conditions would that be?"

Naruto turned his gaze to the ANBU, "The ANBU, I want her name, rank, and that mask off."

That caught the ANBU's attention, she startled slightly, turning her gaze to him.

Sarutobi shrugged, "Okay."

"But Hoka..."

"Present yourself to the child, now." Sarutobi snapped, glaring at the ANBU.

The ANBU turned their gaze back to the boy, who only smiled victoriously in return. Hesitantly she raised her hand to the mask, slowly releasing the chakra that held it secured to her face. Pulling the mask free, she stared impassively at the boy. "Uchiha, Ita. Chuunin, 1st class."

Sarutobi nodded, turning back to the blond and saying, "There you..." he blinked, eyeing the unconcious boy critically "... What on earth?"

"He fainted, Hokage-sama." Ita pointed out the obvious.

-0-0-0-

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Advent against Time

Written By: Matdeception

Disclaimer: ...

Author's Notes: Just couldn't stop typing, heh. I almost feel like I'm writing TUA again, where I pumped out a chapter a day for weeks at a time. Ah well, I enjoyed it.

-0-0-0-

Chapter 1: How far would you go; Guilt knows no restraint.

-0-0-0-

There could be no greater torment then Guilt. Soul wrenching guilt that started as a kernel of doubt and confusion within your bosom, rising up as you continued to blame and hurt and destroy that which was innocent of your pain, but could do nothing to stop your expression of grief. It suffused and compelled, it drowned and controlled. Ever rising higher and higher into the sky until climax, when you realize everything you've done was done because of a lie, a lie you told yourself as a means to escape the pain ever burning in your heart and soul.

Yuuhi Kurenai knew first hand what it was like to feel Guilt; it controlled her life now, every single aspect of it. She often wondered what her family would think of her if they still lived; she often wondered what he would think of her if he still lived.

Katshuhito...

"Kurenai." the voice penetrated the malaise of her mind, pushing her thoughts and guilt to the back for now.

"Grandmother?"

"Services have ended." the older woman spoke softly, brown doe eyes staring pointedly into burning crimson. "Would you like to stay for dinner?"

"No." shake of the head, a polite bow. "I have preparations to make."

"Preparations?" Her grandmother frowned thoughtfully, sipping from her cup. "Your Jounin exam is not for another year, and you've been given three days leave to mourn the loss of your parents and brother." she looked at her then, in that oh so aggravating way that demanded she come up with a better lie if she wanted to skip the traditional family gathering after the mourning ceremonies were complete.

Kurenai couldn't tell her the truth, no, she wouldn't tell her the truth. The truth that she didn't deserve to have a family, to be happy, to be loved, to be cared about by anyone. Not now, not so long as her Crime remained uncorrected. Not so long as her victim fell further and further down the road to hell she had put him on. Guilt knew no logic, guilt knew no reason, it could not be tricked or pacified. It simple was, and would always be, until that which gave birth to Guilt was abolished, corrected, wrongs made right.

"I'll be going now." she returned with a sharp glare, "Tell the family I won't be attending again this year, would you Grandmother?"

The old crone looked ready to protest, but the glare, the searing gaze that could send enemy nin fleeing in terror stilled her. She sighed inwardly. 'Ever the difficult child, Rei-chan, she takes after you so much it hurts.'

"Very well, child."

-0-0-0-

'This is complete utter fucking bullshit.' Naruto scowled as he read the results of his Exit Exam. 'I failed? I fucking failed! I've been alive over six hundred mother fucking years and I fail a god damn exam I could fucking pass with my eyes closed!' This stunk of conspiracy, this stunk of favoritism!

"YOSH! I PAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSED!" a boy went screaming past, tears leaking from his eyes as he screamed to the world his jubilation.

This stunk of humiliation of the highest order! Even fucking Rock 'I can do Jutsu for Shit' Lee managed to pass!

'Okay, take a breather old man. So what if you failed the exam twice? Sure, the first time was a fluke, but when you blow all the chakra pathways out in your arm and end up in the hospital of COURSE your gonna fucking fail.' he glared hard enough to ignite his score card, 'But this time? You not only failed, but according to these scores you rated DEAD FUCKING LAST in Theory, Practical Skills, Subterfuge, Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu and last but not least, you rated in the 'Couldn't hit the broad side of a barn from ten meters' For Kunai application and use.'

'Conspiracy, definitely a fucking conspiracy. I could run rings around these punks no matter what I do, but I still rate dead last?' he growled hatefully as something else came to mind, 'What are the odds Iruka-sensei ends up in the hospital cause of food poisoning a day before my fucking final? That Mizuki bastard planned this, he had too, but why?'

He didn't know, but as he turned and slowly made his way down the hall, he vowed to find out.

-0-0-0-

Kurenai smiled pleasantly as she moved through the halls, the jubilation of the children who had finally taken that step from Student to Genin contagious, it lifted her spirits and left her feeling more positive about her situation and plans. It was certainly appreciated, especially so soon before she had to deal with that bastard Mizuki. She swore if he tried to get fresh with her again, deal or no deal, she'd humiliate him.

"Ah!" the door swung open, the familiar visage of the grey haired man appearing from the doorway, "Yuuhi-san! I wasn't expecting you so soon!" he looked down at the pile of books in his arms, before shrugging and motioning her in.

Kurenai followed him into the room, giving the empty classroom a quick look over before she reached into her dress and pulling out a rather large roll of ryou, "I take it everything went as expected?"

Mizuki nodded; putting the books down, "Had to get Iruka out of the way for a while, and never would have gotten away with it if he showed up, but yeah, the brat failed." he opened one of the books, leafed through some papers until he produced a score card. "Just as well, we'd be the laughing stock of the school if it ever got out the demon trash had managed to not only pass, but score at the top of his class."

Kurenai grimaced inwardly; her guilt growing just a little bit bigger then it was when she first entered the room.

"Yes... I suppose it's for the best." she responded, evenly. "20,000 ryou as we agreed, Mizuki-san."

"Hmmm." he took the proffered money, giving it a curious glance before gazing intently at the slightly younger woman, "You know this only covers the actual grade change, not poisoning my dear friend Iruka."

The black haired beauty simply raised an eyebrow, "Oh? I suppose you've already come up with an alternative payment method, haven't you." she grimaced inwardly, 'You fucking piece of shit, I'll fucking kill myself before I let trash like you lay a hand on me.'

"Mmmhmm." he grinned, "I want the truth, Yuuhi-san. Why are you so interested in seeing the bastard fail?" he reached into his pocket, pulling out and unfolding another piece of paper, "And don't give me any excuses, I did a little research on you, you've been monitoring that brat since he was released from the hospital for, quote-unquote, Genjutsu generated Mental Trauma."

"Your point?" she replied frostily

"Oh, no point." Mizuki shrugged, "Don't really bother making points, kids too stupid to get it anyway." he chuckled at his own joke.

Kurenai was not amused.

"Yes... well." he coughed, "Did a bit more research, especially into his Pre-Academy days. His teachers, prior to the 'Genjutsu trauma' observed that he was a quiet boy, who avoided contact and did nothing aggressive. All he ever seemed to do was draw in his book." he grinned then, looking quite pleased with himself, "Once he got out of the hospital however, he went the drastic, radical personality change route. From reserved and controlled to angry and fierce. That's not even the most interesting aspect of all this..."

"Mizuki-san" she snapped, her icy fa ade breaking slightly as anger threatened to explode from within, "I have other, more important things to do today then listen to your Theories. Get to the point."

"Ah.." he grinned, though with less confidence then before. Damn that woman could almost shoot fires from her eyes with that glare. "Well, I figure your trying to condition him, make him snap right?" he grinned then, a malicious little thing that left Kurenai sick to her stomach. "Trying to get him to do something that the Council or the Hokage finally couldn't ignore?"

'That... that unbelievable bastard!' Kurenai scowled inwardly. He thought she was trying to get the child KILLED? What kind of inhuman monster would do that to a child! How absolutely aw...

Pot, this is Kettle. You are black, I repeat, you are black.

The guilt was smothering now, almost suffocating. 'I suppose given the evidence that would be the most logical conclusion... but I'm not... no, I'm not that kind of person anymore.' she steeled herself, 'No, I'm not.'

"This conversation is over." she snapped, stomping out the door angrily.

Mizuki grinned as he watched her go. 'Ah Kurenai-san, you're so damn transparent.' Really, if this was the extent of her covert skills, he was rather disappointed. There had to be an easier way to go about getting the kid killed, hell he could think of one right off the top of his head, though he doubted he could find a vat of boiling acid to dip him into with out some extensive work. Ah well...

"MIZUKI-TEME!" a scream, rage, anger, uncontrollable fury echoing loudly and clearly for anyone within ear shot. The following kick that smashed the door into little pieces left the older man nervous, at least until he saw just who had kicked the door open.

"You little pest, do you have any idea how much that door costs?"

"Shut the fuck you bastard!" the boy sneered, fists clenched so tight that his knuckles were pure white. "You have one chance, one mother fucking chance to tell me who the hell put you up to this conspiracy or I swear to god I will knock your fucking block off!"

'Little bastard!' Mizuki seethed. Who does this kid think he is? As if a no name little bastard had a chance of even touching a Chuuin, much less harming one. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Uzumaki." he sneered, "Now leave before I have you cited for destruction of school property!"

"Wrong answer, dickwad!" the boy snapped and simply... vanished... vanished until his fist reappeared a mere millisecond before smashing into his face.

Mizuku flew back from the force of the blow, landing in an awkward and no doubt painful position. His only respite was the fact he had lost consciousness the moment he had been hit.

The boy sneered down at the unconscious teacher, "That'll teach ya, huh, bitch?" he turned to leave, but stopped as something caught his attention. A roll of bills laid haphazardly near his unconscious teacher, just sitting there as pretty as you please practically begging it be taken.

Naruto was not one to disappoint. "Wow, thanks bastard!" he grinned, counting the bills. 'Holy shit, this is a lot. Why kind of self respecting Nin carries this much cash on them anyway?' he stopped to think about it, before shrugging the thought off. It didn't matter.

What did matter, however, was he now finally had the cash he needed for some new clothes. 'Suppose failing wasn't too bad, I mean, I doubt I could make this much cash as a Genin in a year anyway, not with all the crappy D-rank bull shit they force on ya.' he smiled, a happy little thing that held no malice or anger. 'Wow, teme really did me a favor this time.'

Happily whistling as he pocketed his cash, Naruto left the unconscious Mizuki with a smile and a skip in his step.

-0-0-0-

Kurenai stared at the graves as she often did when reminded of their passing, an event that had been happening more and more of late. 'Katshuhito-chan...'

Kneeling down, she carefully placed a bundle of flowers on the graves. For a time she was silent, alone in the grave yard, just her and the silent dead. It hurt to be here, it hurt to even think of her family. Yet that pain was not because of their loss, but because of her betrayal. A betrayal that stained her down to her very core, one she knew she would never be able to wash clean. But she could try, oh how hard she was going to try. 'Just one more year Naruto-kun, just wait one more year. I'll be a Jounin then, yes, and then I can finally help fix all the damage I've done.'

She would stay there the rest of the day and well into the night, alone with the graves of the dearly departed. Alone with her guilt.

Alone with the hope that after everything is said and done, Naruto would look to her and say those words she longed to hear. The only words that can give her peace.

'I forgive you.'

She would be alone with that hope for a long, long time.

-0-0-0-

TBC...


	3. Chapter 3

Advent against Time

Written By: Matdeception

Disclaimer: ... Go away.

-0-0-0-

Chapter 2: An Uchiha surprise; Dark remembrance.

-0-0-0-

Naruto munched on the end of his pencil, staring critically at his work to date. The texture, the shading, everything had to be perfect if they were to encompass the underlying meaning behind the sketch. The hair was in place, the soft contours of her cheeks that complimented the whole rather then detract from it, yet most importantly where the eyes. Those crimson orbs so like the Sharingan of his nightmares, but so very different.

'Carefully ya old bastard, carefully now.' he drew the lips, pace slow, agonizingly slow as the tip brushed the page from start, to curve, to finish. 'There!'

Classical beauty, soul piercing gaze, and an intensity that belied nothing but dangerous promise. Perfect.

He put the sketch book down and simple stared at the face he had drawn so many, many times since he had Body Jumped. The same face that haunted his dreams whenever he had a particularly bad day, or a particularly good day. Hell that haunted him every day he could remember since coming here.

That face brought up so many emotions in him he couldn't make sense of it all and it frightened him on a level he couldn't ever remember experiencing in any other life time. She was an attraction, he couldn't deny it, one that had hit his psyche deeply, and with out compromise.

'But who the hell is she?' The question had eluded him. He hadn't realized it, all those years ago when he first viewed a sketch of the woman, but he knew her. Not from the present, but from his terrible past life's. Yet whoever she was, she had never played a role in his life, at least not enough to be remembered.

Or maybe she had? He could honestly admit that the years all melded into something unrecognizable as time went on, hell, he probably forgot more about life and people then anyone in the entire world would ever know in their life times.

"She's pretty."

Naruto blinked, before sighing. "Yeah, she is." he traced the sketch with his fingers, paying particular care to the lips before shutting the sketch book closed. "Never mind that, what's on the agenda today?"

"Kunai Trajectory Calculations." the lazy scion yawned tiredly, putting his head down as other students slowly meandered in. "Pfeh, what a drag. Don't wake me up."

The blonde smirked. 'Ah Shika Shika, even at your age you act like an old man.' Not that he could blame him in the slightest. Knowing the Physics behind how a Kunai flies didn't interest him in the slightest. It was enough for him to know that a Kunai needed to travel from Point A to Point B where it killed whoever you threw it out, adding on flowery calculations that proved you threw it right had no place in a battle field.

Besides he hated math.

"Naruto."

The blond blinked, looking up at who called his name. "Eh? Sup Uke?" he cheerily grinned

Sasuke glared, piercing black eyes promising untold death and destruction. "Don't call me that!"

"Make me, bastard!"

"Ass." Sasuke sighed, reigning in his anger. It was always how their talks started, ever since that day so long ago when he walked into his life...

He stopped himself as he felt a flash back coming on and quickly shot, nuked, and viral bombed that off, "Meh, Ita got home yesterday, she wants to see you."

'Ah, Ita.' Naruto chuckled inwardly. Honestly, in all his life times he had dealt with few constants, but one had always been the Uchiha getting its ass handed to them by a mentally unstable thirteen year old boy. Itachi Uchiha, clan Heir, Scion, and ultimately its Destroyer. Twenty Seven jumps and that constant had always remained, but not this time. No, something radically different had changed EVERYTHING.

Itachi had been born a girl. Her name was Ita Uchiha. Still a Shinobi, still the strongest of her generation, but otherwise she was just a girl. Fortunately, as far as Naruto cared, the Uchiha clan was and shall always be a Patriarchtic Clan. The Male dominated the female, that was all there was to it. He almost felt sorry for Sasuke, being the Uchiha clan Heir must be a shitty job.

He shrugged, "I'll see her after school, same place."

Sasuke grunted as he walked away.

"Y'know, Teme, you could come too. I don't mind having the extra company when Ita kicks the shit out of me." the blonde added with a grin.

The Uchiha scion snorted, but said nothing in response as he walked away.

"Sasuke! Wanna go out on a date?" a particularly rabid fan girl nearly yelled out as the boy walked by, but all she received for her trouble was a quick, scathing retort.

"Get a life you freak."

Naruto chuckled. Ah, another constant. Fan girls. In all shapes and colors. He wondered about that, if it was a curse Sasuke had universally received, or just Karma being a bitch. No man, not even Sasuke, deserved the torment of Fan girl.

"God, I wish they'd get a clue."

The blond blinked, looking a row ahead of him. Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura were practically looking at the girl who had thrown herself at Sasuke in a mixture of pity and disgust. The two girls had been the best of friends for as long as Naruto could remember in this life time, which he supposed was a nice change of pace from the Rabid fangirl-ism they usually had for the Uchiha angst machine.

"I know." Sakura rolled her eyes, "Fine, he's cute, I can admit that. But he's such an ass all the time, what kind of girl wants a guy like that?"

"Don't get me started girl." Ino grimaced, "I don't understand it either, he's SO not my type. Why, you'd sooner see me date Kiba's dog before I lower myself to asking that duck-ass out."

'Irony... just... too... much!'

Naruto teetered out of his chair and fell to the ground laughing so hard tears were coming out of his eyes.

Everyone stared.

He just kept laughing.

-0-0-0-

Traing Ground #3 was a nostalgic trip Naruto couldn't quite shake off. From the lake to the trees to the Centopah to the three Logs he remembered being tied too oh so long ago. It was here everything had begun, where he shook off the yoke of childish idiocy and learned what it meant to work as a team, where he and Sakura had been reunited in a second Bell Test against their semi-teacher Kakashi, and ultimately where he had proposed to the pinkette during his first life time.

Oh how he hated the place.

He didn't know how, but if he had to make a bet he'd swear Ita knew the place bothered him and had insisted they meet here whenever she had gotten a day off from her duties. The sadistic bitch probably saw him twitch each time they neared the upright logs - the place he had taken and lost his virginity with Sakura, just a day before everything turned to shit and Konoha was wiped off the face of the map.

Women were troublesome. They could be softer then silk, sharper then steel, and more cunning then a fox. They could be happy one minute, murderous the next. There was neither rhyme nor reason to them, and he had long ago stopped trying to figure them out. Especially after his first real wife, that foul-mouthed grand-daughter of Orochi-teme, turned out to be bat shit insane on a scope he was sure psychologists would salivate to explore.

'Tayuya...' he sighed, shaking his head to dispel those thoughts. Memories were nice, but that's all they were, memories.

He spared the grounds a quick look, anything more would no doubt drudge up memories he did not want to deal with, before dropping his bag to the ground. 'Late as usual, eh Ita-chan?' he sighed before falling into a stance.

He waited for a time, and then he began to... dance.

-0-0-0-

Ita was a Shinobi, it was her life's blood, it was what she was when she woke up in the morning and lay to sleep at night. She knew no truer passion then that of combat, where your blood burns and sings in chorus with the clashing of steel and the screams of pain. She did not fight for duty so much as she fought to breath, to sing, to dance that deadly dance between life and death, where one slip, one miscalculation cost you your life.

She lived to lose herself in battle, to become one with the flow of combat where trivial things like sex and origin and family had no place. Lived for that one brief moment where you lost yourself to the flow of combat, where nothing mattered but the now. It was better then sex, more intoxicating the Alcohol.

It was life.

She watched him Dance, his pattern indistinct and chaotic, but she knew it was anything but. A 'Kata' he called it, a means to train the body, to imprint upon the muscles over and over again until they remembered each and every little step on their own. Yet the Kata was so much more, she discovered long after she had taken to the practice, it was tranquility of mind. As you practiced, the more your body remembered the steps to take, so much so that eventually you could enter a meditative trance while Dancing that deadly dance, and your body would continue on its own.

It was a way to breathe in that moment of purity so often craved with out being in a life of death situation. She loved it.

'Ah, he's slowing down.' she smiled inwardly, stepping up closer to the blonde as he finished his aerial ballet with an overhead round kick. Landing, he fell into a Horse stance, taking deep, relaxing breaths as he slowly calmed down from his exertion. She waited patiently, unclasping and setting her ANBU issued Katana against one of the log poles.

Crystal blue eyes fluttered open, focusing intensely first on the sword, then her.

Ita waved, a slight smile on her lips.

"Bah!" the boy snapped, throwing his hands up in frustration, "How long have you been watching me damn it?"

"Long enough to know you missed a step on the second aerial kick thrust." the dark haired Uchiha said innocently, idly pulling back her hair into a pony tail as she spoke. "You're such a slacker."

"Eat me." Naruto growled, "At least I show up on time, you're almost as bad as that bastard Kakashi."

Ita shrugged, hiding a grin as his eyes suddenly glued themselves to her bosom and followed the motion. Ever since puberty hit she had taken great delight in taunting him like this, the little horn dog certainly never hid his interest. "My eyes are up here, Naruto-kun."

"Yeah, but the only thing worth seeing are down here." he grinned lecherously.

She sighed, shaking her head. "You're just digging your grave deeper, you realize."

"Hey, a night glued to those tits would be worth dying for."

Ita simply smiled as she cracked her knuckles, "Let's see if you've learned anything from our last sparring session, twerp." she lunged.

Naruto grimaced, instantly on the defensive as the older girl started their ritual shit kicking contest with a light series of low sweeps and piercing punches. He swatted a punch to the side and dug his heel into the ground before lunging forward with both fists extended into an open thrust.

Ita twisted left, avoiding the strikes entirely, following up with a nerve strike to his exposed right arm pit. He hissed as pain ripped through his shoulder, but he wasn't nearly stupid enough to stand there like a moron and take more hits. He swung wide, and back handed the taller girl across the face before lunging forward in a tackle.

'What the hell is he doing?' Ita snarled mentally even as she fell backward from the tackle, rolling across the ground as the two battled for supremacy.

"Squeezy squeezy!" Ita froze solid.

'He.. he's squeezing my...' she looked down, his small hands couldn't fully grasp her breasts, but that certainly didn't stop him from trying.

Naruto quickly jumped off and away, grinning like a loon. "My Ita-chan, such wonderfully firm breasts you have. You'll make a fine house wife one day."

Ita rose, coal black eyes turning brilliant red as her face colored scarlet. From rage, embarrassment, or pleasure Naruto couldn't tell, but he was willing to put money on 'Pissed off beyond all recognition.'

'Ah Ita-chan, you're so much fun to tease.' he chirruped mentally.

"Naruto-kun?" she began sweetly as she rose to her feet.

"Yes Ita-chan?" he chuckling nervously. Okay, maybe he went to far groping the older girl. She NEVER talked sweet like that unless she was a step away from melt down.

"Prepare to die!" she snarled as she quickly formed seals.

'Oh fuck me.' Naruto took off in a run as a ball of burning flames rushed towards him.

-0-0-0-

'Why did I let these idiots talk me into this?' Kurenai sighed. She didn't have time to run off and help her teammates train for their own Jounin exam; she had to focus on her own strengths and weaknesses if she wanted a chance in hell of actually passing it. Unlike the Chuuin exams, Jounin exams were not held in the open for all to see. It didn't just use your skill with jutsu, or your ability to think on your feet or effectively fight unknown enemy-nin until you either won or lost. No, they were far more difficult. Jounin exams were, as her loveable sensei had put it, "A mind fuck of the highest order." he would add no more to that, Jounin exams were after all classified.

'Still, they are teammates.' she glanced at the two young men, Hagana Kotesu and his childhood friend, Izumo. She had been teamed with them since their Genin days, had been promoted to Chuuin together, and she knew they were hoping all of them would pass the Jounin exams so they could continue working together. It was a nice thought, she supposed, even if impossible with her current plans.

Still, they had to pass the exams before any future plans mattered, which was why they were training. Or trying to...

Kotetsu groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose tiredly, "This one's taken too!"

"I swear." Izumo sighed, shaking his head irritably. "We've been looking for an open training ground for two hours Kotetsu, maybe we should just call it quits and hit the bar?"

"No!" the man snarled, "Do you know how hard it was to convince Kurenai-chan to actually come train with us? Huh? Do you!"

"I was there." the brown haired Izumo deadpanned.

"My rose garden has a lot of weeds." Kurenai pouted far too cutely for either mans peace of mind, "Preparing for the Jounin exam... so much work, I just couldn't find the time!" She didn't sound the least bit sorry about duping her teammates into becoming her Gardeners either.

"And since WE promised to weed that field she calls a rose garden, we're going to train even if we have to steal a training ground from some one!" Kotetsu snarled.

"Fine." Izumo shrugged, "So what grounds haven't we checked?"

"Forty fo..." Kotetsu trailed off as Kurenai shot him the most withering glare he had ever seen in his miserable life. He coughed into his hand, "Uh... guess we have Five, seven, and the Legendary three."

"Isn't Five where Maito Gai trains his Genin?" Izumo paled slightly.

"Right, Five is off the list." Kotetsu deadpanned. He wanted to train, not go insane.

"Seven." Kurenai murmured, staring up at the sky, "I think that was reserved for the month by Torture and Investigations division." her voice dropping an octave, "Violators will be used as target practice."

Izumo shivered, shooting the red-eyed beauty a glare "You sound too much like Ibiki when you do that."

Kurenai grinned cheerfully.

"Right..." Kotetsu sweated, "Legendary Three it is."

"Why do you call it 'Legendary' three anyway, Tsu?"

"Well, it's the training ground where the Hokage was trained, where the Sannin were trained since they were Genin, and where the Fourth Hokage was trained." Kotetsu shrugged, "That field has a history of training legends in this village."

'Or Traitors.' Kurenai frowned, but said nothing.

"Well..." Izumo shrugged, "Legendary three it is."

-0-0-0-

'When given the chance to grope Ita-chan, I will refrain. Groping leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to...'

"Katon: Karyuu Endan!"

'... running for your life!' Naruto finished his mental tirade as he lunged from his hiding spot just in time to avoid the column of raging fires turning his cute little self into ash. He broke fast through the forest, leaping through the trees as fast as his diminutive legs could possibly carry him. Movement to the right caught his attention, and he cursed as he saw Ita with Sharigan blazing keeping pace. Her face no longer set in a scowl, but now looked to be chiseled from stone. No emotion, nothing to give away what she was truly thinking or how she intended to butcher him.

'Think I'm in love.' Naruto grinned as he flipped forward and slammed into a tree, using it as a spring board to shoot back towards the oncoming Uchiha maiden. Ita didn't take the bait, reaching out and grabbing a low hanging tree branch she channeled chakra through her hand, using it to swing her straight up and completely avoided the engagement.

Naruto cursed, rebounding off a tree in the nick of time to avoid a barrage of deadly sharp Kunai as it buried itself into the tree he had been standing on not even half a second ago. 'Idiot, idiot, idiot! This type of terrain is exactly what Ita-chan is use to, and she's a freaking Shinobi with an IQ higher then seven, so of course she's not going to go head to head if she could avoid it!'

He jumped high suddenly as another barrage of Kunai whistled by, hissing slightly as one managed to score a clean scratch across his left ankle. Not enough to hamper him, but enough to remind Naruto that she wasn't actually trying to kill him. Cripple him so he couldn't run while she laid down her righteous feminine fury, yes, but not kill him.

No, she WAS trying to kill him. She just wanted him helpless before she humiliated and decapitated him.

A woman after his own heart.

Naruto frowned as he raced on, the area starting to look familiar. He risked a glance to this left and saw the lake. 'Shit, we've already gone full circle around the forest?' That was bad, and he knew it. Ita was a highly skilled ANBU, and very good at leaving surprises behind to dissuade pursuit or trap a particular path even as she chased some one while launching flaming dragon heads and who knew what else at her enemy.

Conclusion? He had to take this fight out of the forest and back into the open. Problem? He'd be open to any kind of attack Ita decided to launch at him, but at least he'd be able to get her out into the open and come up with a plan to drop the Uchiha on her ass.

Of course getting her out into the open was going to be a problem... Or was it? Naruto frowned as he altered his course towards the lake. He landed softly before falling into a roll as a kunai buried itself deeply in the ground behind him. Coming to his feet he bolted forward across the clearing between the lake and forest as fast as he could. When no follow up attacks came, Naruto risked glancing back over his shoulder in search of his pursuer; He found none.

'Good, she's probably moving into a better position to snipe me from the forest.' the blond grinned, forming the ram seal as he neared his target. 'This just might work after all.'

Sliding up to the poles, he quickly snagged Ita's ANBU Katana before twirling around the pole and taking cover. He quickly slowed his breathing as he watched the Forests edge while mentally crossing his fingers and hoping Ita would take the bait and flee her position for a more direct approach.

ANBU were given one sword, and one sword only. The particular Konoha ANBU grade sword was crafted out of Chakra conducting material in a method as esoteric as the Shinobi world itself. They were even given names, which by tradition were to be decided upon and etched into the blade by the Shinobi who owned the blade as soon as they had made their first kill with their weapon. To ANBU, the blade was more then a weapon, it was their soul, an extension of themselves made real. To lose the Blade was to dishonor yourself, your ANBU brethren, and your village.

Naruto grinned as Ita emerged from the tree line. 'She saw me take it, if she wasn't pissed before she sure as hell is now.' he grunted, eyeing the sword held tightly in his grip before he left the cover of the Wooden Logs.

"Hey Ita! Look what I found!" the blonde chirruped, resting the blade against his shoulder. "To think, it was just sitting there as pretty as you please!"

"Naruto." She growled, a low guttural thing that had no right coming from her lips, "Put it down, now."

"Uh..." He shrugged, "Want it? Come get it then..." he finished in a sneer, "... bitch."

Ita frowned but did not move, trained eyes narrowing in contemplation.

'You know it's a trap Ita, but you've already fallen into it, you just don't know how.' Naruto grinned gripping the hilt of the blade, with a quick flick removing the strap that kept it locked in place.

"Don't." Ita hissed even as he pulled the blade free of its scabbard. He gave the blade a few experimental swings.

"This is a piece of crap." he deadpanned as he brought it down on his knee with all his might, the force snapping the blade in two.

Naruto gulped, shakily looking up from the destroyed remnants of the blade to the now quivering kunoichi, "Uh.. eer... sorry?"

Ita accepted his apology, "KATON! HOUSENKA NO JUTSU!"

Naruto watched the balls of flames shoot out in a wide arc, all curving towards him. He moved to the left, but tripped over his own two feet where he fell flat on his face. He had only a moment to look up, eyes wide in horror before he was consumed by multiple balls of fire, creating a conflagration of hot death.

Ita felt her blood go cold as her anger at the destruction of her sword fled her at once. "Na... NARUTO?" she screamed even as his body disintegrated from the assault of her Jutsu. 'No! No! No!' she yelled mentally even as she began hyperventilating. 'I killed him, nonononononotnarutononononono'

"Too big for a Barbeque, eh, Ita-chan?" she startled as she felt something sharp press up against the base of her back, "Heh, looks like I win this round."

Ita's glare made glaciers look warm, "You son of a bitch... how?"

"Kage Bunshin." the blond grinned, pointing at a hole behind her, "Dug my way as fast as I could while he kept you entertained, cool huh?"

Naruto cheerfully smiled as he turned away from Ita to enjoy the blazing Inferno that had killed his poor little Bunshin.

Ita scowled, "Naruto?"

"Yea, Ita-chan?"

"Die."

Naruto managed to blink before the older woman had grabbed him by the hair, tripped him down, and then proceeded to slam his face into the ground.

-0-0-0-

"Some one worked this kid over good." a male voice, one that aggravated his ringing ears and sent shock waves of agony ripping through his skull.

'Fuck...'

"Wonder what happened to him?" Another male, voice not as aggravating as the first, but still annoying.

'Fucking Ita... bitch... worked me over an good.' he winced, a slender and cool hand softly pressing down on his forehead. The touch, for whatever reason, made the ungodly amount of pain coursing through his body slightly more bearable.

"He's hurt pretty bad, we should get him to the Hospital." soft, velvety tones, with a hint of concern and something... something deeper he couldn't quite grasp.

He blearily opened his eyes and hissed. Though the sun was already setting, the waning light still managed to make him feel as if solar knives were digging into his skull. 'God damn, if groping her causes this, I'd hate to be the jack ass that eventually marries that twat.'

"Don't." that female voice, harder now, ordered as she pressed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't move, you've been hurt pretty bad."

'Oh fuck, out of all the people that had to find me it had to be a good fucking samaritan.' Naruto scowled inwardly as his eyes adjusted. Well, he wasn't going to stay here and wait for hypocritical doctors anyway, he just needed to rest and maybe eat something then he'll be right as rain.

"Don't touch me." he snapped, slapping the hand away as he kicked up. Wobbling a bit until he found his balance, he pointedly glared at the woman who had touched him, and froze. Wavy black hair, expressive yet piercing red eyes staring back into crystalline blue. Her cheeks were a little slimmer then Hers, but the lips... it was as if his sketch had come to life.

It was her, that woman who had tormented his dreams. It was her who...

-0-0-0-

He spared the chirping bird a critical glance, admiring it's curves, contours, and the way it opened it's beak to peck along the ground in search of food. Slowly, carefully, he scrawled in his sketch book, taking as much in as he could before the inevitable happened and the bird took flight, leaving him with only a mental snap shot that would rapidly deteriorate.

The sound of children laughing and playing in a near by sandbox did not distract him. A pair of lovers walking by, lost in the clouds as they simply enjoy each others presence did not intrude upon his focus, nor did the busy sounds coming from the streets as people went on in their day by day affairs. In this moment, one made real by a pencil, a piece of paper, and a focus, nothing could intrude upon his frenzied, hurried sketching.

'Complete the eyes shade the neck; focus on the over all picture...' Naruto focused, biting his lip nervously as he quickened his pace. Line to line, intersection to intersection, forming a whole. A happy smile spread across his lips even as the bird startled and took flight when children ran by.

He eyed his work, admiring the simple beauty of the bird etched forever on something as simple as a sheaf of paper. 'Perfect'!

Naruto gave the park another glance, looking for that special something to draw inspiration from. A shadow appeared over head, threatening to blot out the sun. He pouted, looking up and spying not dark rain clouds as he had expected, but a woman with startling wavy raven colored hair, piercing red eyes that latched on to his own and simply stared in expectation.

He smiled, "Neechan? Want me ta draw a picture of ya?"

She stood there for a time, solid as stone. Naruto began to feel uneasy, a feeling that erupted into apprehension when those eyes narrowed dangerously, her lips twisting into a vicious snarl. "Uh.."

He wasn't sure how it happened, just that it did. The world seemed to freeze, all at once bleeding of color until all was black and white. The landscape soon disappeared itself; leaving an empty black void where only he and the woman existed. He whimpered, "Neechan? What's happening... I... I'm.. scared." he finished in a hiccup, crocodile tears escaping his eyes as fear took grip of his chest.

"Mrrghh..."

The blond yelped at the sound, whirling around and backing up a step as he held his sketch book tightly. The plane of darkness began to boil like water left on a stove for far to long, congealing and meshing in violet eddies of a rank smelling steam that only grew worse and worse as the seconds ticked by. Slowly, painfully slowly, figures began to emerge from the boiling darkness, disturbing figures of men, women, and children rising from the deep. They looked deathly pale, with bits and chunks of rotting skin meat and bone protruding at horrifying angles. They wailed in chorus, a melancholy that gripped at his heart and squeezed so tightly he couldn't breathe.

"Nee... neechan! Scared!" he cried even as the shambling horde of death lumbered towards him. The woman wrapped his arm around his neck, almost choking him with the strength she held him with. Her voice, a soft velvety tone that dipped horribly low, whispered hatefully into his ear.

"Burn." He screamed as his feet suddenly caught fire, the searing agony screaming along his nerves, wracking his body in pain the likes of which he had never even imagined possible. "I want you to burn, bastard fox..." the flames grew higher, licking past his knees on its way to total consummation."For every shinobi, for every child, for every family you butchered... I want you to burn." she pushed him down to the ground harshly just as he fully erupted in a conflagration of hot death.

He screamed as the fire consumed. Pain that lasted a second or an eternity but never ended.

"I want you to burn... "

-0-0-0-

To hate...

Naruto staggered as the memory finally came to him. 'Oh Kami...' He felt the rage boiling inside of him as he remembered that terrible agony, the first of many many agonies he had endured... "You... you unbelievable bitch!" he screamed as rage flowed through him.

Kotetsu and Izumo watched in shocked awe as the boy reared backed and brutally decked Kurenai, hard enough to draw blood. When he hit her twice, then three times with out her so much as raising a hand to defend herself they finally got over their shock and grappled the boy.

"Kami he's nuts!" Kotetsu snapped as he struggled to hold the boy back from mauling his teammate. Izumo grunted, together summoning up all their strength to forcefully throw the boy back and away.

Naruto went with the throw, landing in a roll before hopping back to his feet. Kurenai just sat there, blood dripping from her nose and from a nasty gash over her left eye; Stony expression as she simply watched him with those disturbing red eyes.

"Lucky bitch." he snarled hatefully, fist trembling with barely suppressed rage. "Next time these faggots won't be there to save you, then we'll find out just how much you like being burned alive!" he bolted then, grabbing his book bag near the poles. He paused, spying something behind one of the poles. 'Ita left her sword here... why?' he shook that thought off even as he grabbed it. He needed to get out of here. He needed to get away from those burning red eyes of the bitch and think about what the memory he had just assimilated...

He needed to get out of here before he fucking murdered them all.

Kotetsu watched him run off, before barking "Izumo, get the Police, that kid's a lunatic!"

Izumo nodded, but was held in place as Kurenai gripped his pant legs. "No..." she whispered, voice quivering and cracking, "... let him go."

"Are you crazy?" Kotetsu boggled, "He just attacked you, hell, he threatened to kill you and you want us to ignore it? Like it never happened."

Kurenai locked gazes with the older man, eyes piercing and nearly... mad in its intensity, "You will ignore it, it never happened. If you so much as tell a soul about this I'll make you wish you had never been born! Understand?"

Kotetsu winced, but nodded slowly. One just never argued with Yuuhi Kurenai when she got that look in her eyes, not if you wanted to keep breathing.

Izumo watched as she struggled to her feet, blood falling freely down her face, and sluggishly moved away. After she had left, he turned to his friend and frowned, "Should we tell Itaki-sensei?"

His friend was silent for a moment, eyes closed as he pondered just what he would, or wouldn't do. In the end he just didn't know. "Let's... give it a few days, let Kurenai calm down a bit, and then find out what the hell just happened."

"We didn't even get to train..." Kotetsu pouted.

Izumo sighed, "You're unbelievable."

-0-0-0-

TBC... yeah


	4. Chapter 4

Advent against Time

Written By Matdeception

AN: ...

Disclaimer: Insert Alehphesis here.

-0-0-0-

Chapter 3: He gets bored, she gets married; Life sucks.

-0-0-0-

She hissed as she pressed the swab against the wound, alcohol absorbed by the cotton transferring to the open cut above her eye, stinging, burning and cleaning it of infection. The coppery taste of blood caused her to wince; she had bit her lip to block out the pain and had only injured herself in the process. Kurenai sighed, dropping the bloody swab into the sink as she stared at herself in the reflective mirror. Her white porcelain skin marred with dried blood, a broken nose she set herself, and a darkening bruise around her left eye. That child had so much strength, too much strength for some one his age if you were to ask her.

The red-eyed kunoichi grimaced at that. She knew he had all but devoted himself to training, to getting stronger since she had... abused him. 'Abused? I tortured him.' her mind rebelled, and she accepted that truth. She had accepted it a long time ago; it still didn't make it any easier to think about.

She wiped her face, taking some comfort in the warm water as it soothed and comforted her abused skin. Dropping the towel on the floor and flipping off the light, she left and ducked into her bedroom.

The room was dark; it had been late when she got home from that catastrophe of a first meeting with Naruto-kun. She didn't pay that much attention as she knelt down beside her bed and pulled out a small engraved wooden box. Delicately she traced her fingers over the Kanji, eyes becoming unfocused for a time as she drifted off into remembrance of better times. Of times with her annoying brother, her strong father and loving mother, when they would be gathered around the table for dinner. Of her brother sticking his tongue at her... her father laughing about something or another, and her mother sighing that exasperated sigh of hers...

Kurenai winced, burying those pleasant thoughts away. They weren't hers to enjoy, not now, not until she earned his forgiveness. "Forgiveness..." she mumbled even as she opened the box. Within were little mementos, a broken kunai where she had first tried to kill her perverted team mates one morning, a lock of hair from her first boy friend, numerous other mementos marking first times and fun moments. And then there was a large piece of paper, folded in half and tucked carefully into a brown envelope.

She grabbed that, setting the box down to her side as she held her prize. She stared for a long time, her mind amidst a sea of thoughts, before she pulled out the piece of paper, unfolding it with extreme care less she damage it in some way. It was a pencil drawing, it contained a park, a bench and chirping birds crafted so carefully they looked ready to fly off the paper into the real world and take flight. Hey eyes fell to the bench, where a boy sat, his back turned to her. He held in his hands a sketch book, flipped open and blank, a canvas ready to be imprinted on.

Delicately she traced her fingers over the boy, eyes softening as she watched him, imagined him sitting there with a smile as he did what he loved to do, to draw, to capture the essence of a moment and imprint it forever using nothing more then paper and pencil.

The pleasant thoughts faded as her eyes traveled to the forefront, a girl stood there, such a silly little girl with dark wavy hair, fair complexion, and startling fierce eyes that looked back at you as if she knew you were watching her. Where the picture was warm and inviting, then woman was not. Her eyes, beautiful in their own right, felt like a void had been opened up and threatened to draw all things happy and pleasant deep within them.

She knew those eyes very well; she had seen them in the mirror for years after the Kyuubi assault. The artist had drawn a picture of her that was, captured the essence of her hatred for him, and he did it with a smile.

A tear drop rolled off her cheek and splashed against the sketch, followed by another, and another. Kurenai cried as she threw the sketch to the side and hugged herself. 'That's not me, not anymore... dear Kami... that's not me.' she whimpered miserably, lost in thoughts of the past and how far she had fallen.

That's not me.

-0-0-0-

'Yuuhi Kurenai!' Naruto raged even as he slammed the door shut to his apartment with a loud clang. Not that he cared, no one else would 'dare' live near the Demon spawn, so it wasn't like he had neighbors to worry about.

"Out of all the fucking bitches in the world, how could I have forgotten about that whore?" he all but roared, using Ita's sheathed ANBU kodachi as a bat, sweeping strikes against his counter tops that crushed boxes, shattered glass, broke appliances. He reared back and threw the blade angrily against the wall with enough force that the handle became embedded.

Growling, Naruto slammed his fists against the counter top with enough force to shatter its thick blocky surface. Again and again he attacked the counter top as he mentally berated himself for forgetting some one as obvious as the Genjutsu mistress, the woman that bared him children in the Demon Infested World, the second woman he realized he had come to love after his first body jump and the brain damage he had suffered at the onset of the Demon invasion had been wiped clean.

"God damn it!" he viciously kicked his refrigerator over before twirling around and slumping tiredly against the wall. Bad enough that he had been mentally ass raped as a child, bad enough that it was Kurenai of all people that had fucking done it, he had to go and forget she even existed. He was old, he knew that, and it reasoned after nearly six hundred years of body jumping he would forget some things. But never a woman he had loved, never that. He could still clearly remember Sakura-chan, his Sakura-chan that had died saving his life when Konoha fell to the Demonic Army of the eighth circle. Temari when she broke down at the thought of Gaara's death during the destruction of the second and third gate, Tayuya when she finally gave up on trying to assassinate him, and so many others. How... how could he forget about Kurenai?

He sighed, taking deep gasping breaths as he tried to calm down. It didn't really help all that much, but it at least got his mind off what that venomous snake had done to him with her blasted genjutsu. 'Damn it.. just, damn it, what am I going to do?' he couldn't help but wonder now that he knew who had hurt this body as a child.

Kill her? Naruto sneered at that thought. Such a fate would be merciful by his standards. Torture? Oh yes, there were so many interesting ways you could hurt a person with out risking their death. But how? He supposed if he didn't care about going missing-nin he could come up with something now, but he was a little too young for something like that. I mean, honestly, so what if he could melt a village into slag if he went all out; No one in this world would take a kid seriously, especially one that looked as, and he hated the fact, adorable as he did.

Yet then there was Ita, he realized tiredly. She really was his only friend in this village, and the thought of leaving her to fend off her family whenever they tried to get her to lay on her back and pump out babies again left a sour taste in his mouth. If only there was something he could do for the girl that didn't involve genocide, but what? He wasn't much of a thinker, he accepted that ages ago, so coming up with a plan to some how help Ita, destroy Kurenai, and escape the village in such a way that didn't require him to blow the whole fucking village to kingdom come was a little beyond him at the moment.

'Bah! Too much thinking. I need to work on something to get my mind off of this shit.' Naruto scowled as he climbed to his feet and retrieved Ita's sword from the wall, yanking so hard the small hole the sword had created when it got embedded widened considerably. He spared the damages he had caused in his juvenile little tiff a glance, before shrugging.

The loud BAMF of multiple shadow clones popped into existence, and all of them were glaring at him with hatred evident. He couldn't help but grin, "Yeah, get to work. I'll be in 'The Shop' if you need." he paused near the door, "Don't need me."

"Fuck you!" they screamed, flipped him the bird, and then they sighed as one.

Naruto shook his head as he shut the door. Crazy Kage Bunshin.

-0-0-0-

Ita squeezed the remains of her ANBU sword tightly, the broken blade returned to it's sheath to hide her disgrace. Mouko Takabisha, her sword, the extension of her soul broken into two by a bastard of a twerp desperate to beat her in a juvenile pissing contest. She had been so furious, so angry she had beaten the bastard to within an inch of his life and left him for dead on that training ground.

Away from him, walking the peaceful streets of the Uchiha district in a haze, she began to realize what the loss of her sword truly meant for her. ANBU would dismiss her from service; return her to life of a Special Jounin, which would in turn give her bastard father all the excuse he needed to force her out of service and into the life of a house whore to pump out the next generation of red eyed bastards. She didn't want that, she would rather die then submit to the expectations of her damn clan.

As she neared her home she asked herself, 'What can I do?' And what could she, honestly? She was Uchiha Ita, first daughter of the Head family, she knew such an 'honor' would come with responsibilities, but until recently she never imagined such responsibilities would require her to give up her career as a Shinobi, or spread her legs for any man her 'beloved' father deemed acceptable.

'Shishui' the Uchiha girl's face twisted into a snarl. The bastard had gotten what he deserved, but she wasn't ignorant of what had encouraged her one time friend to try his luck. The situation had her father's finger prints all over it, but damn if she could actually do anything about it.

Distracted with such thoughts, she mechanically entered her home and moved to her roam, only to pause as she entered the dining room. Three sets of eyes turned to her in tandem, the air thick with restrained anger and aggravation. The warm eyes of her mother, neutral eyes of her brother, and the stern angry eyes of her father bored into her where she stood. She quickly cataloged what she saw; They were sitting at the table, six sets of dishes had been set out, two were empty but the drink glasses were partly filled; Guests she realized.

She frowned inwardly even as she remained impassive outwardly. "Apologies, I did not realize we were entertaining guests." she bowed low.

"Sit down, girl." her father sneered, "You've already caused enough damage for one night, worthless child!"

She did so, falling to her knees next to her brother, head held low. "Forgive me, father. I did not realize we were to entertain guests tonight." Sasuke risked her a glance, his eyes said everything they had too; Something was wrong, incredibly wrong, and it wasn't just about missing a wonderfully boring night of entertaining some noble no bodies either.

"Hmph." her father snorted. He looked ready to explode, the way the veins on his forehead pulsed, but her ever dutiful mother softly placed a hand on his knee. The act seemed to calm him considerably. "As you realize, we had guests' tonight." her father began evenly, "Special guests concerning your future, so I'll ask this once. Why weren't you present?"

The dark haired ANBU girl looked on impassively, even if deep down her mind was swirling. 'My future? No, he couldn't possibly be planning what I think he's planning. Not so soon after Shishui, he wouldn't, he couldn't...'

"Answer me Uchiha Ita..." her father snarled, "... why weren't you present to meet your fianc ?"

'He would.' Ita sighed inwardly, 'And he did.' The bastard. He dares this even after what had happened with her ex-best friend Shishui? "Father, I am not engaged."

Fukagu snarled, slamming his first against the table hard enough to knock down the glasses, "Stupid girl! I've entertained your pathetic delusions long enough! You're engaged when I say you're engaged." he glared fiercely, "I'm the clan head, if I tell you you're trash, then that's what you are. If I tell you you're a shinobi, then that's what you are. If I tell you you're engaged, the by Kami YOU. ARE. ENGAGED! Do you understand me daughter?"

Ita wheeled back mentally at that. Her father had never used such words before, had never been so base in his demands. "But father, the Shinobi-Clan charter clearly states...

"To hell with the charter!" He slammed his fist against the table again, "As Clan Head I'm telling you, you are engaged. Tomorrow you will resign your commission, you will quit the service, and you will do what your clan demands of you, do you understand?"

Ita looked for support from her mother, but Mikoto said nothing and remained impassive, as was expected of a Housewife. She looked to Sasuke, but he avoided her gaze entirely. She was alone in this; There was nothing left to save her from the expectations of her family.

Tired, defeated, Ita nodded softly. "Perfectly, Uchiha-sama."

-0-0-0-

'The Shop' as Naruto called it was a work of art. He thought it a pity, and major waste of space, that his building was all but abandoned. He didn't particularly care to have neighbors either, but some times the stillness and silence got annoying. It was why he, with permission from the Hokage who seemed to own the whole bloody place, decided it was time to make a place where he could have fun. Where he could put on his Mad Scientist hat and just go nuts.

Thus came to life 'The Shop', a joining of four separate apartments through knocked down walls, ladders, and all manner of things. The windows had been bricked in to avoid anyone spying on his precious shop, and each room contained a Seal array large enough to electrocute any unwanted guests that had not been keyed into the master ward hidden at the heart of the 'The Shop', where he kept his tools and notes tucked safely away. Or to blow the whole building, and the surrounding block, sky high. Bah, who cared? The blond jinchuriiki didn't.

Naruto unsheathed Ita's sword and admired the blade, paying close attention to the carefully, oh so carefully etched name along the base. Mouko Takabisha, or Fierce Tiger Domineering as it were. A beautiful name for a beautiful sword that complimented a beautiful bitch of a girl like Ita, he supposed. He placed the sword carefully on his table, the edge pointing upward, before tightening the clamps to hold them in place.

'I must be insane.' he decided even as he received a shoddy box from under the desk. He opened the box and picked up a simply sharpening stone, simple if not for the fact its surface seemed to shimmer ever so slightly. 'Elemental Sharpening stone; Wind based.' he stared for a moment, before putting to stone down and grabbing another, this one shimmering red every few moments as he stared into the rock.

'Fire based.' he grunted. As clich as it sounded, even to him, the Uchiha were tempered in fire; He had never met a family so pre-disposed to the element in all his life times. Fire was in their blood, in their hearts, in their souls. It was only fitting, really, that their Elemental affinities primarily live within the flame they were oh so enraptured by. He turned his gaze to the sword; the standard chakra sword created for all ANBU and marveled at it. Most ANBU tended to ignore their sword, fearful of destroying the strong weapon and getting drummed out of the core. Not that Naruto put stock in that load of horse shit, but that seemed to be the general fear when it came to losing ones ANBU sword.

It was a shame, honestly. ANBU swords were like an unfinished painting, purposely left that way by the crafter to allow their owners to customize it, to build upon their simple perfection until the weapon truly became an extension of their soul. As far as he knew, only one Shinobi had ever taken his ANBU sword and improved upon it, truly crafted the weapon he had been given into one of supreme power and almost legendary status - White Fang, the weapon once belonged to Hatake Sakumo before he took his own life, now broken by the hands of his inept spawn.

Naruto snorted even as he pressed the stone against the edge of the blade, allowing brief wisps of chakra to run through his hand and into the stone. immediately the blade reacted to the mixed chakra of stone and the demonic energies within, the edge glowing red, then blazing white as he ran the stone along its edge.

It was time for another Sword of Legend to be born, Naruto decided. Besides, it would certainly keep his mind off that traitorous bitch, at least for a time.

'Wonder how grateful, and pissed off Ita is going to be when she see's what I've done?' he chuckled at the thought of a raging Ita kissing him before trying to drown him entered his mind. Ah well, what's life with out risks, right?

-0-0-0-

It was silent through out the house, night had long since fallen, her father, mother, and brother long since deep asleep. She sat in her room, staring but unseeing as her mind drifted to what her father was forcing her to do, to what her clan expected of her. Ita didn't think sleep would come easily for her, or at all for that matter, not with the knowledge that tomorrow she would have to resign, give up her dreams as a shinobi, become little more then piece of live stock expected to spread her legs whenever her dear husband desired.

She cried, small crystalline tears rolling down her smooth cheeks. She was scared, far more scared then she had ever been, even during the war with Iwa. She liked the life of a shinobi, the intoxicating danger, the camaraderie with her fellows on the field and at home. What was to become of her now? Was she to lay down and accept this?

"The hells are you crying about now?"

Ita startled, twisted to the side and grabbed a Kunai from under her bed and launched the weapon at the owner of the voice. She was rewarded with the disgusting sound of metal piercing flesh, followed by a tired "Of course." and a BAMF as smoke billowed through out her room.

Her mind caught up to her and she recognized just who the voice had belonged too, "Naruto?"

"... Heh, Ita... please don't kill me." she saw him, or another him as she was fairly sure she had killed a clone back there, lying on her bed hugging her pillow to his chest tightly, "Mercy!"

"What are you doing here?" Ita frowned then, "And how did you sneak into my bedroom?"

"Heheh.." Naruto gulped, "You... you carried us in here!"

Ita raised an eyebrow, the clone nervously pointed to where her broken sword should have been, but was no longer. "My sword? But... what does that...?" she trailed off, eyes wide.

The scared clone risked a grin, chuckled nervously, "Ah, you didn't think boss woulda destroyed your precious sword now, do ya?"

"I... suppose not." the dark haired girl conceded as a wave of relief washed over her; Her sword was fine, Naruto did not destroy it. One less dishonor she would have to bear tomorrow when she resigned. A curious thought popped up though, "... Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Heh... heh..." Naruto chuckled nervously, "... after watchin ya kick the boss's ass, we were... scared." he finished lamely.

Ita felt he cheeks tinge pink as she remembered how... brutal she had been. "Ah... I apologize. I did over react, I suppose."

Naruto shrugged, "No worries here. Better you kick his ass, then kill us adorably innocent clones, right?" he waggled his eye brows comically at that.

Ita groaned. Naruto's Kage Bunshin were weird, very much so. She didn't know how the boy managed to make them act so silly, but some times they took the cake with their differing personalities. She still couldn't get over the clone that insisted she wasn't suppose to exist, that she was really a he and should have murdered her entire clan by now. As if she could do that... well... Ita shook her head, dispelling such pleasing, if blood thirsty thoughts.

"So Ita, what'cha cryin about?" the clone bravely asked. "I mean, if you feel like talking to whittle ole me, that is."

Ita sighed, lighting a candle to illuminate her darkened room. She supposed it couldn't hurt to tell Naruto's clone, and by default Naruto himself when the clone canceled or ran out of Chakra, about her troubles. It would certainly make her feel better. "Father has taken it upon himself to decide my future for me." she said simply.

And really, that was all that was needed. Naruto's clone grunted as his eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "So soon after that Shishui bull shit eh? Man, he's a piece of work."

"Yes." Ita sighed tiredly, "I'm to resign my commission tomorrow, as ordered by the..." she spit the words out, "...Clan head."

"Ah man, that's rough." the clone leaned back as if he owned her bed, "Kami, I remember how I use to wish to belong to a clan, y'know, to have a family and people to love me." he snorted, "No thanks, I'm happy being a clan of one."

"Clan of one?" Ita blinked, "I thought you were a ward of the state, Naruto-kun."

"Yeah, well, shows what you know." the blond clone smirked, "Few years back some fine political back stabbing took place, some loop holes were found, exploited, and then BAM! Hokage had no choice but to release me." he chuckled, "Not that he didn't get the last laugh, mind you. That hippy council were shitting bricks for months afterward."

"Oh?" Ita urged him to continue even as she closed her eyes to think.

"Yeah." the blond shrugged, "Right after the state released me, Hokage drew up a bonafide clan Charter for the Uzumaki clan. Using his own loop holes and no doubt some political savvy, he managed to get the charter approved and BAM! The Uzumaki Clan consisting of yours truly was born." he chuckled, "Not just a family charter mind you, but a Clan charter equal in political power to the likes of the Nara, or Yamanaka. So guess what the Council realized when they found out?"

'This should be amusing.' Ita thought, but nodded for him to continue.

"When I come of age and get married..." Like that will ever happen again, the clone thought with a snort, "... I get a seat on the council! HAH! Man they were soooo pissed." he chuckled

"When you get... married?" Ita blinked weirdly. "Clan registrar..." she mumbled even as her eyes widened in shocked surprise.

"Huh?" Naruto shivered. He didn't like that look, it meant nothing but trouble could come of this. "Uh... what the heck are you thinking?"

Ita looked at him.

Naruto whimpered.

"I need to see you in the morning, at the Hokage tower." Ita declared after an awkward silence had descended between them. "Do not be late, or I swear I will destroy you Uzumaki Naruto."

"... kay." the clone shivered, "... Look, you scare the shit out of me Ita. I'm just going to cancel myself now, okay?"

Ita ignored the clone as he BAMF'ed away. She couldn't believe she was actually considering this, but it really could be the answer to her prayers. She couldn't out right disown the Clan, which would be nothing more then a Death sentence given Clan Laws developed within Konoha to protect the bloodlines. No, disowning them wouldn't do, but joining another Clan... ah yes. Ita grinned nastily, 'Let's see you counter this, father.'

-0-0-0-

Naruto set the stone down, admiring the white glow of the sword as it finished absorbing the chakra he had given to it. He felt that special something he had been hoping take place, a spike of chakra so intense and focused he was glad he had taken the time to seal 'The Shop' as thoroughly as he had.

He couldn't help but grin as he put the chakra stones away, careful not to touch the blade itself now that it began generating it's own unique chakra signature, a sign that yes he had done what he had set out to do, mold the blade into a chakra weapon of potentially unstoppable power, and give to it that which so many swords lacked.

Sentience. A mind of it's own. It helped, he supposed, that his chakra was so loaded with Demonic energy that actually infusing the weapon with the amount of chakra required to give it it's own, well, life so to speak, was entirely possible. Easy, no, but possible yes.

Some people wrote books, other people read them and giggled insanely in order to escape their problems. Naruto? He created weaponry, deadly unique weaponry that any shinobi the world over would murder entire cities for a chance at.

He chuckled, shaking his head. "Sleep babe, rest." he cooed to the sword even as the steel began to cool from blazing white to fiery red, "You'll wake up soon enough, and man oh man, you're going to be special."

He rubbed his shoulders tiredly as he walked back through The Shop. The sword would need time to settle, the consciousness time to assert itself, and then it would be ready. He'd have to bring Ita down here to claim the weapon if the Sentience was going to accept her. Naruto frowned at that. 'Shit, I'll have to actually explain what the fuck this place is to her!' he groaned, rubbing his forehead tiredly. That was one discussion he wasn't going to enjoy. Bah.

'Speaking of Ita...' Naruto rubbed his chin tiredly. He vaguely remembered absorbing a clones memories last night while he was working, something about meeting her in the morning? Wonder what that could be about.

-0-0-0-

Ita ignored the stares, of the curious, of the lustful, of the morning workers heading into the Hokage tower who decided to stop stare at how she was dressed. She wore a simple black dress that was entirely too short, her long hair normally held in a pony tail let loose and glimmering off the morning light, with make up she had once sworn never to wear highlighting her eyes, and her thin ruby lips.

She was beautiful, like a morning Goddess that had deigned to grace the pathetic mortals with her presence. Many a young man gawked at the beauty only to be punched by their respective women for their rude behavior.

Ita ignored all that, staring instead down the main road as she irritably tapped her foot. 'He's late, I swear. I'm going to kill that twerp!'

As if summoned by divine comedy the target of her ire slowly meandered up the street. He hadn't changed, still covered in the dirty blood stained clothes she had seen him in yesterday, with a tired near exhausted look about him. His eyes were sunken, if only slightly, from lack of sleep. His hands covered by soot, or something like it, as if he had been working with charcoal or something all night. He didn't even realize who she was as he glanced her over and kept heading on into the Hokage office.

Ita didn't know whether to be pleased by that, or annoyed. She stalked after him and grabbed him by his collar, "Little pest! I told you not to be late!"

Naruto blinkblinked and stared, dumb struck. "Uh... huh?"

"No time." she snapped, ignoring the curious stares the Office-nin were giving her as she dragged the boy along the way. "Hokage-sama is being very generous agreeing to see me with out an appointment, let's not keep him waiting."

"Uh... huh." Naruto shook his head to straighten his thoughts, "Whoa, what the hell? Why are we goin to see the old man?"

The black haired ANBU sighed, pulled Naruto down an empty hall way, and cupped his cheeks. "Look, I don't have time to explain. Just trust me on this, follow my lead, everything will be fine."

For his part, the blond haired jinchuriiki didn't even blush at such an intimate touch. "Uh huh... fine." he shrugged.

Ita smiled. 'Perfect!' she quickly dragged the blond along, much to the amusement of the Office-nin below.

-0-0-0-

Sarutobi yawned tiredly as he searched the floor for his hat. Another all nighter spent on endless paper work, inane requests, and outright ludicrous budget demands. 'Ah!' the old man grinned, picking up the red symbol of his office and putting it back where it belonged. He slid into his seat and, after carefully looking over the room, swirled himself around a few times before coming to a stop with an amused grin plastered on his lips.

He hummed to himself as he picked up a report and reviewed the information. 'Huh... request for aid? Iwa War front outpost?' he blinked, quickly checking the date. It was over fifteen years old. He frowned, lips pressed into a thin line. He quickly shoved the file back to the bottom of the pile, 'I'll deal with this later.'

There was a knock at the door, and for a moment the Hokage wondered why he had scheduled an appointment so early in the morning. 'Oh, that's right. Uchiha-san urgently requested my attention.' he sighed, "Enter."

The door swung open, the beautiful Kunoichi walked in confidently, dragging along a dirty scamp Sarutobi instantly recognized. The old man blinked, "Naruto?"

The blond boy yawned, waving slightly at the older man and pointing to the older girl. Obvious to Sarutobi this was her show. "Ah, Uchiha-san... to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" the old man groused jovially.

Ita smiled brightly, which instantly set the old man on edge. Uchiha do NOT smile. Ever. It was hardwired into their genes as far as he knew. If an Uchiha ever DID smile, it meant shit was about to hit the fan. Hard.

"Hokage-sama, we've come to humbly request you oversee our wedding vows."

Naruto's eyes bugged out.

Surprisingly, it was Sarutobi who voiced what was on the young boys mind, "Lady, what kind of crack have YOU been smoking?"

-0-0-0-

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Advent against Time

Written by: Matdeception

AN: Just to note; This fic may be listed under Naruto & Kurenai, but that doesn't mean anything. I don't care to list match ups, I'll let relationships blossom and die as the writing leads itself too, so please, no more asking if it's a Naruto/Ita or Naruto/Kurenai match up.

-0-0-0-

Chapter Four: Marriage; Lovers; Plots

-0-0-0-

What the HELL was she thinking? Marry Naruto-kun? Betray her Clan and instigate a Blood hunt that would wind up with both of them killed? Did she think he was stupid or senile enough not to consider the ramifications of her request? No, no she couldn't be that stupid; she was ANBU, she knew the harsh reality for what it was. She had too, but that still didn't answer the question.

"Why?"

Ita stood on impassive, holding the little boy close in a tight and desperate hug, either ignorant or purposefully placing his face between her breasts to keep him quiet and unresponsive. Sarutobi knew if he was in the boys position he'd be dumbstruck too if the situation wasn't so dire.

"Why not? I'm intelligent, beautiful, and willing. Naruto is young, virile, and more then willing." she pulled the boy back some, "Right, Na-ru-to-kun?" she singsong with a smile.

Naruto stared up, cheeks tinged pink. Sarutobi didn't have to guess why; How often do women shove you head first into their pliable mammary? The child jubilantly chirruped, "Right Ita-chan!"

Sarutobi frowned at that. Ita he could read nothing from, her emotions were faked expertly into giving the illusion they were real. She was ANBU and trained to portray a lie as if it were the truth; he expected it and wasn't surprised by it. but not Naruto. He was a child; he was open, happy, cheerful child that had been given the short end of the deal with fate. He didn't have the skills to fake something like that so completely, he really wanted to marry the older girl; Or Ita had some how managed to trick him into believing that he did. That she would use the boy for her own ends angered him greatly, his life was already difficult enough, he shouldn't be used like this, shouldn't have his emotions toyed with just so the girl could make a political mess of his village. If she so much as causes him to cry over this...

"What do you want?"

"Marriage, an immediate transfer from the Uchiha to the Uzumaki register, and instatement of the Clan Council Seat as promised during the formation of the Uzumaki clan charter." she coolly listed, intimately rubbing her cheek on top the boys head.

Sarutobi frowned, "I see you've considered the retaliation the Clan Council would levy against you. Well done, Uchiha-san, I applaud your tenacity." eyes narrowing oh so dangerously, "Explain to me, child..." he spit that word out with so much venom Ita almost winced, "... what makes you think I'll allow you to abuse Naruto like this?"

"But gramps!" the child whined, "I want to get married! She's like, my bestest friend ever! She'd never hurt me!"

He nearly winced at the focused glare Sarutobi shot him at that. He didn't need to be a mind reader to see what the old man was thinking. Poor little orphan boy, all alone and with no one to comfort him, desperate for love and attention that he'd be willing to do anything so long as some one showed him even the smallest of kindness. That he wasn't innocent, or even really a child was besides the point. Sarutobi was like an over-protective parent when it came to him, mean, easily angered, and Kami have mercy on anyone who tried to fuck with his children. He was honestly touched the old man thought that way of him.

"Naruto, you're late for school. Go, now."

The boy grumbled, "But I don't wanna..."

"I SAID GO!"

Stunned by his forceful, angry demand Naruto backed away in shock. The old man had never, ever as far as he could remember been anything else but kind and gentle to him, no matter how much trouble he caused or who he pissed off. It took every bit of will he could muster to act like the surprised, terrified little child he was pretending to be. With a trembling lip, eyes wide and watering, he looked so much like a child on the verge of tears as he ran for the door and slammed it shut behind him.

Ita didn't even see the old man move as he left his chair, but she felt him grab her arm and twist it behind her back and forcefully slammed her against the desk. He angrily hissed through clenched teeth even as he twisted her arm.

"Now, Uchiha. You will tell me why you've taken it upon yourself to toy with Naruto's emotions, and what your despicable father hopes to gain by such an obvious ploy!

Ita knew fighting back right now would be the wrong idea, despite the pulsing pain from her shoulder that threatened to dislocate she had to remain lucid and in control of herself. She suspected something like this could happen, especially considering just who Naruto was. That Sarutobi believed her father laid at the root of this wasn't so surprising either, she knew he had tried to do terrible things to him in the past so Sarutobi's accusation made sense. She held no illusions that Sarutobi wouldn't see her executed if she failed to answer his questions either, she had to convince him now or her life was forfeit.

"Naru... Naruto is my friend Hokage-sama! There is no lie there! I've done nothing to coerce or direct Naruto-kun's emotions, you have to believe me!"

Sarutobi sneered at that, she clenched her teeth as he yanked her arm up sharply, yelping as her shoulder dislocated. Focus Ita, focus! Bury your pain beneath ice, allow the agony to slip into the depths of your mind! You have to remain lucid, you have to remain in control, losing yourself now could only end in death.

"Please Hokage-sama... I'd never hurt him... he's the only... only one who understands me! He knows the truth about Shisui!" she gritted her teeth, trying to block out the burning agony of her arm, "... Father has nothing to do with this! He'll kill me if he finds out, just as he's been trying to kill Naruto-kun all these years!"

Sarutobi frowned at that. The fact Fugaku had been trying to kill Naruto wasn't a surprise, many were the Uchiha locked in the darkest cells after failing to so much as harm one hair on the boys head; Fugaku had been smart enough to lay blame on his clansmen despair over the death of so many at the hands of Kyuubi, and the would be assassins, long since broken under torture, never once indicated Fugaku had anything to do with it. He had suspected Fugaku of conditioning their minds into believing they acted under their own power, it certainly was within the power of their cursed doujutsu. Yet here his very own daughter was admitting to her father's involvement in the attempted murders, putting her own life on the line in doing so. He didn't believe for a second she cared about Naruto, very few people did, but to go so far as to implicate her father...

"What game are you trying to play here, Uchiha?" he twisted her arm even more, ignoring the painful whimpers of the girl in agony, "And don't give me any of that bullshit about being in love, we're Shinobi, we both know Love is simply a tool to use against the young and foolish."

"I... won't let that bastard turn me into a whore!" the girl shook, spitting out that word with so much hatred Sarutobi found pause in his actions. "... He orders Shisui to rape me, he plots behind my back to marry me, orders me to resign from ANBU and demands I bend over and spread my legs for any man he deems acceptable!" she spat out furiously, "Never, I'll never let that happen!"

Sarutobi frowned even as he let her go; the young woman went slack at once and slipped off his desk to the floor as she held her abused and dislocated shoulder. He ignored her, slowly trailing back behind his desk, sliding into his seat as he considered what he had heard.

The Uchiha's were trying to force one of their own to marry; A common enough occurrence that he couldn't bring himself to care about it. That was how clans worked, that was her duty as a Maiden of the Uchiha clan. Honor demanded she submitted to her father's wishes, it was as simple as that. She would be a fool is she thought she was the first woman to try and escape such a fate, as foolish as those women who thought to run only to be killed for their troubles. No, he doubted she was a fool, so she had intentionally mentioned Fugaku's involvement in past attempts on Naruto-kun's life. She was offering a trade, information for Marriage. Evidence for a way out of her clans expectations...

He chuckled. "Smart girl, smart. I'll give you that." he drummed his fingers across his desk, "Get up, we have much to discuss."

-0-0-0-

Naruto idly wondered if they actually expected him to go to school. He doubted it, at least from Ita, but then again she knew he was so much more then he appeared to be. Sarutobi, that old fool, still saw him as the kid with the heart of gold and some justifiable anger problems due to the circumstances of his environment. He snorted at that thought, the old man was crafty and far more ingenious then people gave him credit for. He acted the kind natured, jolly old fool well enough no one except the most paranoid believed otherwise, and why should they? They wanted to believe him senile; they wanted to believe he was an old man long past his prime. That it made him malleable, easier to convince or trick, to sway to their line of thinking.

That the old man had cast the wool over their eyes was an irony Naruto found entirely too pleasing, yet despite playing such games of subterfuge the old man had yet to realize he was being played in turn, by himself no less. He didn't want to see the facts, didn't want to piece the puzzle together that would prove the blond haired brat was so much more then he seemed. Not that Naruto would complain too much about it, being seen as a happy go lucky innocent child had it's advantages.

Still, Ita had him concerned. Surely she realized how dangerous the gambit she was playing truly was? If the Hokage didn't have her executed thinking she was trying to influence him or some such rubbish, then her Clan was certainly going to see it done. Or try too, anyway. Naruto swore he'd wipe the clan off the face of the map before they managed to hurt his only precious friend.

Naruto grumped, leaning up against the wall down the hall from the Hokage's office and personal secretaries. It had already been three hours, and aside from one Office-nin that went tearing down the halls half an hour ago with a shocked look on her face, it had been a boring three hours indeed.

He was relieved then when Ita came meandering down the hall. She looked tired, physically and mentally, while holding onto her left shoulder like a child would cover a scrape to protect the injury. She moved like she was lost in a daze, buried within thoughts of events that were careening past her control.

He waited until she looked ready to pass him with out so much as noticing his presence before grabbing her and yanking her forcefully into an open closet. "Damn it!" she cursed even as he slammed the door shut and rounded on her. The space was small, little more then a janitors closet which forced them both to press up close to one another. He supposed at any other time he'd be asking himself why the HELL he wasn't trying to initiate a make out session, but really he knew there were other more important things to talk about given the older girls dumbfuckery this morning.

"What the hell happened?" he all but roared his question.

Ita stared blankly at first then slowly smiled, a coy little thing that Naruto just knew was meant to fuck with his sanity. "Well, dear husband, we got married."

Naruto snorted at that. If she thought to unbalance him she had another thing coming. She was a few hundred years too young to catch him off guard that easily. He purposely pressed up against her, hands sliding up her hips and underneath her too short skirt, playing with the hem of her panties.

"Joy, we can celebrate our honeymoon with intense sex, multiple orgasms, and some good ole Kage Bunshin gang banging." he quipped cheerfully, ignoring her increasingly wide eyes as he said so. "Now before I spank you like a bitch, you're going to tell what the hell gave you the idea that marrying me was a GOOD thing?"

"Naruto..." She sighed tiredly, "... I told you once, after Shisui tried to rape me, that I'd rather die then become yet another whore for the Uchiha clan." she grabbed his wrists, pushing his hands out from under her dress. "I meant it, every word, only..."

The blond shook his head, "Only what? I was preferable to suicide?" he rolled his eyes tiredly, "Well gee; you know how to make a guy feel special."

She wrapped her arms around him tightly, fingers digging almost painfully into his back, "No! Don't think that, please don't, you're the only friend I have left. The only one I can trust anymore."

Naruto sighed, returning the hug finally, "Look, just surprised me is all. If I knew what you were going to do I'd of..." he froze.

The door opened with exaggerated slowness, exposing the two as they held onto each other for the outside world to see.

-0-0-0-

Izumo hated being on duty at the Hokage Tower. File this, fill out these forms, see to it that so and so is informed about the change in plans, flirt with the ladies in the break room, get in trouble for accidentally dropped the coffee pot, get ordered to mop it up. Damn it, he was a shinobi, a trained assassin that should be out killing people, not wasting his years of training as a gopher for the Administration. It was mind numbingly boring, and force the most part he just zoned out as he walked the halls of the tower...

"Yo, Izumo! Wake up man!"

Izumo blinked. Kotetsu was just suddenly there, smiling like a cat who caught the canary. He boggled at that, there was no way he zoned out that badly.

"Kotetsu... what's up?" he grumped, pushing past him done the hall.

"Same ole same ole." his friend shrugged, "Man morning shift sucks so bad."

"Duh." The errand boy rolled his eyes, "At least you're assigned to Filing, I'm a certified errand boy and janitor."

Kotetsu shrugged indifferently, "Whatever man. I was just looking for ya, wondered if you wanted to go out for a bite to eat?" he grinned, pushing his friend up against the wall as he looked up and down lest anyone could hear him, "Wouldn't believe what came rolling into the file room this morning."

Izumo rolled his eyes tiredly, "All right, I'll bite. What oh what did you find out?"

"Uchiha Ita just got married." his friend grinned sadly at that; It wasn't a secret he and half the shinobi, and kunoichi if rumors were true, had a crush on the dark haired Uchiha babe. That she got married sucked; He could already hear the pitiful cries of her admirers now that she was off the market.

"Well... grats to her, I suppose." Izumo shrugged indifferently. She wasn't his type anyway. "Who's the lucky stiff?"

Kotetsu grinned devilishly as he pulled back and continued on down the hall, hands behind his head as he whistled merrily.

"Oh you really suck." his friend grumped, following after him. "That Miashi fuck? Hotaru? Kishimoto? Takahashi?"

His friend just kept on whistling. Annoying bastard. "Fine, fuck you." Izumo grumped, gripping the handle to the Janitor closet and flung it open irritably.

Boy oh boy what the hell? He easily recognized Ita, the slender and undeniably hot kunoichi pressed against the back of the closet, intimately holding and hugging a smaller boy with spiky blond hair that looked so bloody familiar. He couldn't help but blush, it looked like the kid had buried his head into the fine ass kunoichi's cleavage and was enjoying himself.

Kotetsu stopped whistling too, eyes wide in horror.

Izumo didn't understand that look, at least not until the boy in Ita's arms turned around with a glare. Those eyes, those hateful angry eyes he recognized instantly. It was that boy! The one who assaulted Kurenai just yesterday! What the hell was he of all people doing cuddling up to one of the sexiest kunoichi he had ever met in a closet inside the Hokage tower.

Naruto just snapped, "By Kami, is there no where safe enough where I can ravish my hot ass wife in fucking peace!" as he dragged the dazed, blushing girl from the closet and stalked down the hallway. Izumo watched them go dumbfounded. Kotetsu just glared after the couple.

"Well... least I know who she married now, huh?" Izumo deadpanned as he grabbed the mop and slammed the door shut.

-0-0-0-

The walk home was somber, and honestly Ita preferred it that way. She was rather amused when people stared at her, the way she walked hand in hand with her husband, the blond jinchuriiki. Almost as amusing as the look of shocked awe those two chuunin had when they caught her in such a precarious position with her husband, even if it wasn't really as intimate as they would no doubt believe. She supposed it didn't matter, their marriage certainly wouldn't have remained a secret very long.

She really wished she had time to think about this more carefully; Oh she was reasonably pleased with all things. The information she provided to the Hokage concerning the Uchiha had been used as a bargaining tool to marry Naruto and escape her clan for the time being. There were other stipulations, but nothing she had to worry about right now. She also wasn't pleased about going behind Naruto's back to do it, but she simply didn't have time to fill the boy in at that point. She swore she'd let him know everything as soon as she could. She hadn't been lying, he really was her only friend, the only person she knew she could trust with everything.

Naruto let her hand go as soon as they passed through the doorway to his run down shoddy home of a building. Ita looked it over curiously, never actually having come here before. Outside it was hideous, peeled paint, some of the windows cracked, broken, or simply gone, with serious foundation damage lining the bottom. She did happen to notice, curiously, four apartments had their windows bricked in, but aside from idle curiosity she paid it no mind.

"Yeah, it's a shit hole, but hey..." Naruto grinned as he pushed open the door to his room, "... it's home of the Uzumaki clan, wife o mine."

The inside was surprisingly tidy, with buffed hardwood floors, tastefully painted walls and medium quality furniture, the couch looked particularly inviting. Strangely the counter tops looked empty, and aside from a battered toaster there were no other appliances sans the essential stove and refrigerator. Oh, and the Kage Bunshin leaping at each other with Kunai's, how on earth could see miss that?

"It's mine!" a clone screamed as the two collided in mid leap, falling to the ground as they each tried to wrestle the Kunai into the other.

Naruto stared, eyebrow rising as the two rolled around the floor.

"... why?" Ita boggled.

The blond shrugged even as the pinned Kage Bunshin took a kunai to the face, exploding in smoke as it's chakra matrix was disturbed. The victorious clone cheered even as he picked up something from the ground, it was small, roughly oval in shape with a decidedly brown texture. "Ha!" he crowed, raising his hand into the air, "My peanut!"

The victorious clone didn't get to enjoy his prize as Naruto threw a sebon, the needle like weapon piercing the clone straight through the trachea. Casually he scooped up the peanut as the clone erupted in smoke and glanced at the dumbfounded Ex-Uchiha. "... my peanut."

Ita sighed, "... and I thought it would actually be a good idea to marry you."

"Meh." Naruto shrugged as he lept on the couch, "Just wait until the honeymoon Ita, me and the clones are sooooo gonna gang bang you."

Ita blinked, blushed, then scowled. "Get your head out of the gutter twerp, there's no way I'm going to let you anywhere near my body!"

Naruto sighed, "Should have thought of that before marrying me, babe. I know why you did it, I understand, but have you even thought it through?" he closed his eyes, murmuring tiredly, "Sure you thought of the council, good idea there, Fugaku is going to be pissed. But after?" he shrugged, "Some people are actually going to want us to make like rabbits, I mean who wouldn't want the power of the Kyuubi to mix with the Sharingan?"

Ita frowned even as she fell into a comfy armchair, "What they want, and what's going to happen are two different things." she snorted, "Besides, it's not like they can force us."

"Can't they?" Naruto sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly, "What you did today was basically insult the Uchiha Clan, a grievous insult at that. The other Clans would retaliate simply to keep the status quo; That being you don't fuck with them." he shrugged, "They're going to want something to make up for that."

Ita frowned at that. She knew Naruto was so much more then he pretended to be, everyone simply knew him as that angry little boy who liked to draw and be left alone, which was what he wanted them to know. He had told her some things, about how living life alone had forced him to grow up just to survive, but she really wondered some times. His grasp on politics wasn't something she expected, she was thankful for it mind you, but it really wasn't something she could see a kid, even Naruto, learning about so early in his life. It raised questions she wasn't quite ready to face.

"I imagine they'll try some less savory means to strike at me..."

"Us, Ita-chan, us." Naruto clarified, "Like it or not, we're married. I wouldn't put it past those blow hards to try and see us both killed. You for insulting the Uchiha, me for simply breathing."

Ita made a face, "Us..." she didn't think she'd ever get use to thinking of them as an 'Us', marriage of convience or no. She also couldn't fault the twerp's logic; this was certainly a reasonable excuse to declare open war on the child jinchuriiki. "I suppose we should prepare for that eventuality."

"Yeah..." Naruto yawned, turning over on the couch. "... later, I'm gonna take a nap babe."

Ita just frowned. Sleeping? Now? They should be talking, preparing, devising means to counter her despicable father once he counter attacked them.

"Stop that, you're going to give yourself wrinkles." the twerp singsonged pleasantly.

The black haired Ex-Uchiha snorted, crossing her arms. Annoying pest. She really had to be desperate to marry the little bastard. First that bull shit yesterday with her... She blinked. Her sword, yes...

"Hey Naruto, where's my sword?"

The boy simply cursed.

-0-0-0-

Mitarashi Anko was bored; A terrible thing to be sure. People feared so few things in life, but Anko was special. It wasn't that she was at one time the apprentice to the most despicable shinobi to ever come from Konoha, or even her eccentricities when it came to blood and kunai, or the way when she looked at you you just knew she was trying to think of a reason to let you live. No, that was pretty typical of the insane kunoichi, so people were use to it. But a bored Anko? That was a disaster in the making, one that would no doubt involve massive property damage and leave families in the street crying for the Kami's redemption; The curse of Mitarashi Anko becoming bored so near to them had to be divine punishment, after all.

Tap tap tappity tap tap Anko idly tapped the glass of saki. She was decently amused by it, the way the sebon vibrated against the container if you tapped it in different spots had kept her attention for awhile, but now it was just aggravating her. She looked up and sneered, "Oi! You sure you haven't seen a hot kunoichi, brunette, red-eyes wearing an oh so delicious bandage dress come by here today?"

The waitress shivered, silently praying Kami would have mercy on them. "Ah... no... no Mitarashi-san! No one by that description has been here all day, I swear!"

"Bah!" Anko snarled. Damn that bitch! She promised she'd meet her here for lunch. Hell, she had to beg off an interrogation session just to make this little lunch date, and she didn't even have the balls to show up! If she wasn't dead or dying she was soooo going to pay for standing her up.

"Ah man, what a fucked up day." she heard them before she saw them. Izumo and Kotetsu, Kurenai's team members. She felt a faint hope swell in her chest as they walked into the little caf , but felt it gutter out when she Kurenai didn't come in after them.

"Oi! Weener lovers, where the hell is Kurenai?"

The two chuunin startled, eyes widening in surprise then fear as they saw her. Anko preened at that, those two fudge packers were oh so afraid of her, as if she would waste her time playing with them. "Uh... Uh... Anko! Um, err... what a pleasant surprise!" one of them bit out hesitantly. Kotetsu thought his name was, she wasn't good with names, especially for losers like them.

"Yeah, yeah. Feast your eyes on the hottest piece of ass you'll never have a shot at." she smirked dangerously, "But you still haven't answered my question; Where the hell is Kurenai?"

Izumo just rolled his eyes, "How the hell are we suppose to know that? We don't follow her around like love sick puppies."

"Damn it." Anko sighed. "Well, see ya then, got to find me that sexy nymph and make her pay for skipping out on lunch!" she bounded out of her seat and to the door.

She was reasonably surprised when Kotetsu grabbed her by the shoulder. She had almost finished debating about how to end his miserable life when he spoke, "I know it's none of my business, but you're closer to her then us... something happened yesterday, to Kurenai."

Anko raised an eyebrow at that. She began in a deceptively dangerous voice, "She's not hurt, right?"

"Not too bad." Izumo shrugged tiredly, "What we're concerned about is the fact she didn't even try to defend herself when that little bastard hit her."

"Yeah, she just sat there and took it over and over again." The chuunin with the strap across his face grimaced, "She even told us not to tell anyone, but I figure since you're closer to her then us, you'd be able to find out what the hell was wrong with her."

Anko tried to make sense of what they were telling her. Kurenai, that sweet sexy little bitch, got beat up yesterday. What was worse, she apparently let it happen and didn't do a damn thing to stop it; Insanity, there was no way Kurenai would let anyone beat them up, she was too proud, too sure of herself for something like that. "Explain, from the beginning." she demanded as she sat back down with the nastiest frown either of them had ever seen in their short miserable life.

"Well, it began when we found this kid beat all the hell up..."

-0-0-0-

She slammed into the training post, arms a flurry of blows as she intricately attacked, feinted, flowed from strike to strike in rapid succession. The wooden construct ached with the abuse, the force of her blows leaving depressions with each and every strike.

Her moves were graceful, practiced, instinctual, but there was something else there. An underlying anger that showed through her emotional calm as jerky pauses in her movements, as slight variations from a Kata that boasted speed, grace, precision.

'Bitch.' she replayed that word over and over in her minds eye, relived the moment he looked at her with furious eyes and twisted snarl. She could still feel the totalities of his repeated blows, not the physical pain, but the emotional ache of his suffering. Like open wounds laid bare, that brief moment of contact showed how badly she had hurt him, how deeply she had scarred him.

Her strikes began to lose any semblance of the grace she had worked so long and hard to earn with such thoughts, the dull thumps of her strikes quickening, from a soft chorus to an undeniable staccato.

-0-0-0-

"Nee-chan..." he didn't whimper, he didn't cry out. His voice was level, steady controlled even as she controlled his perceptions. She knew he felt the blade ripping into his stomach, exposing his intestines and thoracic cavity to the outside world. He didn't scream, he didn't cry, he just sat there and took it with that same... damn... fucking smile!

The Genjutsu was in place, he should be feeling every single nerve erupting in pain, he shouldn't be capable of thought or even able to resist the burning desire to scream under so much continuous agony! What was she doing wrong? Damn it, damn it, damn it!

"Scream damn you!" she cried even as she pulled the blade out and slammed it against his chest, severing his breast bone. "I want you to scream, I want you to beg, I want you to know the pain you've put me through you bastard Fox!"

He just looked at her, even as tears ran down her eyes, even as she gripped the damaged bone and pulled back. The sickening sound of his chest tearing apart, or the sight of his own beating heart still did not bother him. "Why? Why won't you scream!"

"Nee-chan... is so beautiful..." the boy gurgled blood, yet still did not scream.

Kurenai stared. "What?"

"Nee-chan... so pretty... smile so happy... want that smile... forever..."

The brunette began to shake, body tensing as uncontrollable alien feelings blossomed in her cold dead heart.

-0-0-0-

"DAMN IT!" Kurenai bellow as she slammed into the post with unrestrained fury. The first hit broke one it's arms clear off, the second an underhand strike shattered the base in a spray of splinters, the third, a forward elbow strike, snapped what remained of the base, the broken training post flying ten feet back so hard did she hit it.

Gasping she fell to her hands and knees. 'Damn it, damn it, damn it!'

"Whoa babe..." a low whistle broke through to her, piercing the tired haze she hadn't realized she had succumbed too. She glanced up tiredly, spotting the trademark fishnet, short shorts, and trench coat of her long time friend and... compatriot, Mitarashi Anko. The insane kunoichi was grinning, looking at her with amusement plain as day, "... I am female, hear me ROAR!"

Kurenai groaned, rolling onto her back and just laying there. "Damn it Anko... it's too early for this."

"Yeah, early." she snorted, "It's past noon babe."

Kurenai startled some what, "Past noon? Damn it!" she cursed, dragging herself up some. "Damn it, I'm so sorry Anko, it's just that I was training and lost track of the time."

Anko rolled her eyes as she set down a take-out container as she kneeled down, "Think you lost track of everything." she reached out and touched Kurenai's cheek, pushing back the sweat matted strands of hair. She finally got a good look at her friends face and grimaced. "You're a mess."

She grabbed her hand softly, squeezing gently she murmured "Pain is a part of growing."

Anko sighed when she pushed her hand away. "What did you bring me for lunch?"

"Ramen, dango, the necessities of life." Anko shrugged, slumping down next to the woman. She opened the box, and laid it's contents on the ground. Three bowls of plastic covered ramen, Kurenai practically salivated at the sight of the warm noodles so expertly prepared, and a rather large plate with a very generous amount of dango. She didn't so much as peel the plastic off as she did rip it to shreds, she had been about to dig in with her hands when Anko snapped a pair a chopsticks across her nose.

Kurenai growled even as she took the chopsticks, and with a frenzy never attributed to the beautiful woman, began attacking the noodles as a starving man might attack his first meal in days.

For herself, Anko idly munched on dango as her friend slurped the tasty noodles. After her first bowl she calmed down considerably, eating at a far more sedate pace. A companionable silence drifted between the two for a time, a moment of peace, of tranquility between two friends simply enjoying presence.

"So when's your exam?" Anko inevitably broke the silence, idly working on her sixth dango stick.

"Any day now." Kurenai grunted between bites.

"Think you'll pass?"

"I know I will." she murmured softly. 'I have too.'

"Confident, better then those two worthless teammates of yours." Anko made a face, "When they aren't jerking each other off, their wasting their breath trying to score with the ladies."

"They're trying their best..." Kurenai defended weakly; Their tendency to ignore training in favor of anything with tits and a vagina well know to the upcoming genjutsu mistress.

Anko snorted, "Please girl, you're trying your best. Them? They're happy were they are, no drive in them to get better."

"That is their choice, isn't it? I'll support them no matter what they decide to do with their careers." her friend softly replied.

"Whatever." Anko smiled coyly "Though now that we're talking about the weener boys, they blubbered something today that I thought was interesting."

Snap went Kurenai's chopsticks as a glimmer of anger ripped straight through to the surface. She had the grace to look sheepish as Anko handed her another pair. "Ah... what was that?" She hesitantly asked; Anko didn't need to be a shinobi to see how nervous the slightly older woman was.

"Something about a boy, an angry little boy who did a number on this beautiful bitch I happen to love, and how this beautiful bitch just stood there and took it instead of creaming the bastard like the uppity dick he is." she caught her red eyes in a pointed stare, "What happened, Kurenai?"

'I'll kill them.' Kurenai decided all at once. One simple favor, she had asked for one simple favor and they couldn't even do that. They were dead, dead dead dead dead DEAD! This was something that should have remained between them, should have ended at the training ground, but the little shits just had to go and tell some one; Anko. She supposed it could have been worse, like her sensei for example, but that didn't mean Anko wasn't a bad choice.

"Anko... I don't want to talk about it." the red-eyed kunoichi spoke calmly, matching the insane kunoichi's stare with her own defiant one.

"Yeah, well, good thing I didn't ask if you wanted to talk about it then, huh?" Her friend snorted, "Give it up girl, I'm not going to stop pestering you until..."

"You will accept what I said and stop, do you understand me?"" Anko paused hesitantly, surprised at such forceful words and the dangerous glare that accompanied it. It was disconcerting to see Kurenai become so fierce about anything; She was a calm, collected individual for the most part, to see her break her routine like this gave the slightly younger kunoichi pause.

"Fair enough." the purple-haired kunoichi sighed after a time, falling back to the ground and staring up at the cloudy sky.

Honestly, what do you say to something like that? Anko was dying to know what the hell had caused the normally cool and controlled Kurenai to become so fierce. She wasn't stupid, whatever had the red-eyed kunoichi's panties all twisted up had to do with that angry little brat. What was the connection? As far as she knew Kurenai had never interacted with the child before, he lived clear on the other side of town and she highly doubt her friend would want anything to do with him, not after what happened to her family.

'Unless...' Anko glanced at the brunette curiously. Many people lost family in that catastrophe, and she knew her fair share of people who would like nothing more then to hurt the kid, thinking in some weird way that hurting the bastard Fox's jailer would some how hurt the fox. Not that they did mind you, no they knew what would happen if they did and were caught. And try as she might she couldn't really see Kurenai actually being that much of a bitch to the poor smhuck. No, that was silly. Though now that her thoughts drifted to the kid...

Anko giggled.

"I miss anything?" Kurenai raised an eyebrow.

"Heh, you could say that."

"Well, spit it out then." the slightly older woman grumped, poking the purple haired kunoichi in the side. "Been training so long I'm out of the loop! What have you heard?"

Anko grinned. Oh this was perfect. If she played her cards right she'd be able to convince Kurenai to help with some much needed stress release, for the both of them! She schooled her features carefully before she spoke. "I don't know... Knowledge is power, what will you trade for it?"

Kurenai stared. "... Forget it, nothing is worth your price."

"You wound me." Anko pouted in mock hurt, "It's about that boy of yours." she baited expertly.

Red-eyes glared back, "... I hate you."

"Hate, love, you know what they say." Anko smirked, hand trailing down the length of Kurenai's sweaty back. "It's a very thin line."

Kurenai groaned the groan of the damned, "Fine, tonight, 8 o'clock. You bring the oils."

"Victory! Oh yeah, going to have Kurenai-chan all too myself tonight!" her friend cackled even as she leaned up and nuzzled the slightly older woman's cheek.

"Anko..." Kurenai bit out tiredly. Anko knew when she was pushing her luck, and she certainly was now. Not that it stopped her from touching the woman so intimately.

"Well..." she murmured teasingly, "... You know that smoking hot ANBU chick? The one I was crushing on a few months ago?"

Kurenai shivered slightly, Anko grinned in triumph even as she tentatively licked the woman's jaw. She still managed to sound surprisingly calm despite such a... amorous distraction, "... Uchiha Ita?"

"Yep." the purple haired Kunoichi slowed her shameless touching and kissing down, settling for the contentment that washed over her as she laid her head down on Kurenai's shoulder, delighting when she wasn't pushed away. "Looks like she went and got hitched with out the Uchiha's approval to the man of her dreams."

"That... isn't good. For her or the man she ran off with, I imagine the Uchiha are out for blood." the red-eyed Kunoichi groused, resting her head against the other woman as she idly played with the last of her ramen.

"Course they are, or will be. They can't just go after her, apparently the man she married belongs to a Clan." came Anko's whispered response.

"Ah." Kurenai shrugged slightly, "As much as I don't care about Uchiha problems, this isn't what I bargained for Anko."

"Yeah yeah, I'm getting to that." Anko pouted. She honestly wished Kurenai would get in the mood on her own for a change, "I was sitting there for awhile trying to think about the guy and what kind of balls he had to have to go and do something like that. I mean, pissing off the Uchiha? Might as well place a bull's eye on your back."

"I wonder... who did she find brave enough to do something so reckless?" Kurenai asked with a sinking suspicion.

Anko grinned, "Why, your boy of course. Uzumaki Naruto and his darling new wife, Uzumaki Ita, they're the talk of the town!"

Her chopsticks snapped in two even as she startled, "What?"

"I said..."

"I know what you said!" the red-eyed kunoichi hissed, "If this is some kind of sick joke Anko, I swear I will end you."

Anko was honestly surprised. 'She's so intense, I haven't seen her like this... ever.' She grabbed her hands and squeezed placatingly, "Whoa, calm down Kurenai-chan, it's not like I set them up."

For herself, she realized what she had said and how she must have sounded to the other Kunoichi. 'Calm, be calm, take this one step at a time. Don't blame Anko, even if she's a conniving bitch at times, I would have found out sooner or later, right? Not like it's any of my business.' she mentally assuaged a welling anger she couldn't even bring herself to understand.

"Sorry... just surprised, is all." Kurenai sighed tiredly, gingerly grabbing yet another pair of chop sticks.

Anko licked her lips tentatively. Angry Kurenai was a rarity, she knew very little that could get her riled up so much, but what she did know is it always seemed to revolve around that blond haired pariah. What the hell was he to her anyway? What string connected her dear sexy little nymph to that adorably cute, but so very angry little boy? She resolved to find out, even as she rubbed her legs together at the thought what what she and Kurenai were going to be doing tonight.

"So... see you at eight?" Anko moaned despite herself.

Kurenai looked up from her noodles, eyebrow raised curiously. She let out a oh so cute snort at the look of wild anticipation burning in her friends eyes. She had to admit, given how craptastic the last few days had been she was looking forward to their time together... she really could use some stress relief.

'Yes, relief.' Kurenai frowned thoughtfully, 'Then back to training. I have to be ready, I have to pass, I must become a Jounin. For him.'

Anko poked her playfully, "We still on, babe?"

Kurenai shook her head and in a bold move that surprised the purple haired Kunoichi she whispered, "Why wait?" and pressed her full lips against Anko's own.

-0-0-0-

Sasuke hated school; The boring classes, the drudgery of lectures about things he had been taught when he was but a small boy, but really what he hated most about it were the girls. Or most of them, at any rate. He didn't know what he had done in a past life to deserve this curse, but really dearly wished he could reach back and stop himself from doing it; Those annoying pests were driving him insane, especially since that Uzumaki Naruto hadn't shown up and his own fan club joined up with the 'Annoy Sasuke' club for the day.

Uzumaki Naruto was an interesting person. He was smart, almost too smart for some one who failed his last two exams. He could and has given insight into the workings of shinobi, into chakra theory and ways to utilize even the smallest bit of it into grand things. Sasuke would never admit it, but he's learned more from Naruto in the rare instances he bothered to talk then he had from the teachers themselves. He really wondered why he wasn't in class today...

Surprisingly he was even able to go toe to toe with his pyscho of a sister for a little while, and his sister was a prodigy. Graduation at age eight, chuunin by age ten, ANBU when she hit thirteen. If father left her alone instead of demanding she get married he honestly wouldn't be surprised if she made Jounin before next year.

Sasuke sighed even as he kicked off his shoes and stepped into the house proper, thinking about his older sister reminded him that she was being forced to resign her commission today, to play house wife for that annoying prick Shinji, a twice removed cousin of his that he never liked. It made his gut twist to think his father would force that on his only daughter, and he desperately wished there was something, hell ANYTHING he could do to help her out.

He didn't really pay attention at first as he passed by the dining room. He would have missed it entirely if she hadn't sniffled. He paused and stared at the sight of his mother crying, head down on the table. Something was terribly wrong and Sasuke knew it; In all his not so numerous years he had never, not once, seen his other mother shed a single tear.

"Mom?" he tentatively kneeled beside her, softly placing on arm on her shoulder. "Mom? What's wrong?"

Mikoto startled at the touch, pulling back and knocking his hand away in surprise. He could see it clearly now, those tears trailing down her cheeks. Her eyes were red, puffy, she apparently had been at this for awhile. "Ah... Sasuke-kun..."

The boy frowned, "Why were you crying, mom?"

Mikoto winced ever so slightly. She grabbed his hand and squeezed softly. She seemed torn, hesitant. Sasuke wasn't sure he wanted to know what could give his normally head strong mother pause like that, "Sasuke dear... something's happened... your sister, she..."

"What happened to Ita mom?" Now he was really concerned, especially after last night when she became so cold and distant. "She's not hurt is she? Tell me!" he grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. She stared in wide eyed surprise he would ever do such a thing, but Sasuke honestly didn't give a damn right now.

"She... she got married." Mikoto murmured tiredly, "Your father is furious."

"Huh?" Sasuke blinked, "But... isn't that what he wanted? To make her a house wife so she can pump out the next generation of Uchiha?"

"Don't talk like that." Mikoto snapped harshly, much to Sasuke's surprise. "Your father was doing what he thought was best for the Clan, best for everyone. Do not blame him for doing his Duty as Clan head."

Sasuke frowned, "Fine. So why is father upset Ita got married?"

"Because she got married with out permission from the Clan, to some one your father would very much like to see dead." she looked at him tiredly, "She betrayed the Clan today, Sasuke. She's gone rogue."

Sasuke felt his blood run cold. Rogue? Ita? No, he couldn't believe it. Ita wouldn't do something so stupid! The consequences... oh dear god the consequences for her and the unlucky bastard she married were going to be huge. "Where... where is father?"

"Where do you think?" Mikoto bit out bitterly, "He's arranging his daughter's death as we speak."

Sasuke didn't even realize his hands were shaking, his mind awhirl with the fact his father was even now seeking a means to end his only daughter's life. Dear god... "Who... who did she marry?" he asked absently. Honestly he didn't care, that poor bastard would be dead within the week, but he just couldn't think of anything else to say.

"A... boy, much younger then herself. Uzumaki Naruto..."

Sasuke went still. Naruto? My sister married Naruto? "This... sucks." he aptly described the situation.

-0-0-0-

It was late, the moon shone overhead, illuminating the dark paths he traveled clearly for the eye to see. He stepped carefully through the foilage, mindful not to leave signs of his passage lest he be tracked back here. This meeting was too important, too delicate now that things had begun to finally take shape.

Even as he moved his mind drifted back to the meeting with the Clan Elders, of his false assurances that he would see his only daughter dead for her treachery. It amused him to no end those wizened fools couldn't see the deception taking place before them, couldn't see the trap he had taken so long to craft and set into place. Now that things were in motion it wouldn't be long until he wiped their condescending sneers and oh so important looks off the face of the earth.

He shook his head to dispel such thoughts. They were pleasant, but for now that's all they were, pleasant thoughts of what was to come. Fugaku couldn't help but grin despite himself. They would get what was coming to them, he only hoped he was there to see their horrified faces when it came.

He stopped at the entrance to a cave; one of the many that outlined the cliff Konoha had been built around. Two figures draped in dark robes and unnerving white masks greeted him, flanking him to either side as they motioned him forward.

Fugaku walked on in silence, careful not to look to hard at his escorts less he upset them. He could ill afford to upset these people now that things were in motion. They lead him down the tunnels, taking turns seemingly at random. He didn't dare activate his Sharingan to memorize the passages he took, such an act would no doubt result in his death.

When they cleared the tunnels they came upon a large cavern that was bare except for a simple wooden table with two chairs, a globe lantern sitting on it's surface casting a pale light through out the area. Fugaku immediately took a seat and waited, his escorts breaking off and vanishing into the deep shadows like the wraiths they were trained to be.

Time passed, first a minute, then ten, then twenty as he sat there waiting, mind churning over the plan and what would come next. He almost missed the soft sound of his benefactors cane tapping against stone as he entered the cavern. Fugaku watched the man, old, so very old with one eye and one arm missing. Despite this the man moved like a seasoned shinobi, graceful despite his age, purposeful despite his handicap. He didn't sit; He never did during these meetings, preferring to pace, a nervous habit Fugaku decided.

"I'm sure you've heard the news concerning my daughter and the Uzumaki?"

The old man nodded, smiling thinly, "I must congratulate you on your success. Maneuvering your daughter into willingly marrying the child, brilliant work Fugaku."

"It was simply a matter of playing on her fears; Shisui gave her the fear when he tried to rape her, all I had to do was play to it." he chuckled in amusement, "Now it's just a matter of wrapping up this matter."

"We will need you to put pressure on them before we begin the next phase; Call the Council and attempt a Blood Hunt..."

Fugaku startled, "A Bloodhunt? But Danzo-sama, no one on the council will vote against it! Even the Hyuuga would want her neutralized to stop the spread of the Sharingan, I would just be ordering their deaths!"

The old man simply smirked, "The Bloodhunt will never be approved Fugaku, Sarutobi has seen to that. Do not worry." he walked up behind him, placing his hand on his shoulder and gripping tightly "After the notion to destroy her is declined, you will instead invoke the Continued Generations clause to make her prove this marriage is genuine and not out of convience."

Fugaku grunted, "I'll see to it. Have the arrangements been made to deal with the rest of the Clan?"

His benefactor nodded, "It will be taken care of within the month and, as we agreed, only your family will survive the cleansing."

The Elder Uchiha grunted, "Good."

"To keep the Roots of Konoha strong, your kinsmen will burn for their attempted treachery!"

-0-0-0-

TBC

Well, boy, that was interesting wasn't it? I found it entirely fitting to have Anko and Kurenai be bi-sexual lovers, they fought in the War with Iwa (Something I never really realized until I thought about Itachi's age in comparison to theirs), in that terrible war that left so many scarred and eccentric shinobi within Konoha's ranks. To me it was only natural they would turn to each other to seek comfort.


	6. Chapter 6

Advent Against Time  
Written By: Matdeception

-0-0-0-

Chapter Five: Politics

-0-0-0-

The morning light drifted through the window, its sweet caress touched against her face like the warm hand of a parent gently cupping her cheek. She grumbled a bit as sleep left her, the sluggish haze of lethargy slowly being beaten back as she came to consciousness. She welcomed the aches of her body, those wonderful aches of a long night of frenzied coupling that reminded her of the fun and relief she had felt during those glorious moments were she lost herself to passion. Where she forgot who she was, what she was, and simply exalted in the pleasures of the flesh.

Kurenai rubbed her eyes tiredly, pushing Anko's arm away. The woman groaned at the motion but did not waken. It was funny, but Anko was a deep sleeper even when she hadn't been engaged in a night long marathon of gasps and grunts and delicious orgasms. She shook her head, slipping from her bed to the bathroom.

She stared at herself in the mirror briefly, admiring the cut over her eye, and the receding bruises. She could have simply gone to a doctor and received a chakra treatment to take care of the wounds, but honestly she much preferred to keep them. They were wounds inflicted by him, and were to be treasured for what they truly represented; the first wounds received as she traveled down that long and winding path to forgiveness.

She shook those thoughts off, not quite in the mood to delve into such thoughts so early in the morning. She quickly filled up the tub and slid into the warm cascading waters that felt oh so divine. Much as she enjoyed her session with Anko, she reeked to high heavens; her sweat from training mixed with her furious coupling and excretions did not combine into rainbows and sunshine, and she typically loathed being dirty in general.

She sighed in contentment as she soaked, staring at the roof in quiet contemplation. She really needed last nights break from training; she could honestly admit to herself she had been over doing it. Training just a bit too much and too far then what was considered healthy for the body or for the mind. If everything didn't hinge on her passing the Jounin exams, she would have been quite content to wait another year and train at a more reasonable pace.

Naruto; she really didn't know what she was going to do about him. She had hoped and prayed he simply wouldn't remember her, that those memories of her... actions would have been buried through time. That wasn't the case, no, he remembered her and he was rightfully angry. Or surprised, Kurenai didn't know which. Anger was the surface emotion, anyone could recognize that, but she wasn't a Genjutsu specialist for nothing. Psychology was par for the course, she was trained to notice things, small things people wouldn't consider. Use those hard to see factors to determine what a person was really feeling. What she saw during those brutal few moments at the park was anger, yes, but a surprised anger. Like he hadn't been expecting to feel that way when he saw her, which was curious. If he had held onto that hatred and resentment from the time of his torture, he certainly shouldn't have been surprised when he finally saw her again.

And then there was the fact he was married; She boggled at that. Married at his age, and to Uchiha Ita no less. She really wanted to know how those two got together, and what on earth possessed the Uchiha Maiden to so brazenly defy her Clan. She really hoped they had a plan to counter the Clan Council when they got wind of this, otherwise they were both going to be in serious, serious trouble. If they so much as touched her Naruto-kun...

A tapping sound, like that made on glass, forcefully dragged her out of her thoughts. Curiously she followed the noise to the closed window over her bath. She groaned at that; If those two perverted team mates of her were trying to peek again, she'd kill them. Rising up in the tub she carefully pulled the window open a bit and peered outside.

She found a bird, a white familiar bird staring at her pointedly, around one of it's legs was a yellow wrapping proudly displaying a single sigil; Kurenai felt her mouth go dry at the sight of it. The Symbol of the Hokage; The symbol of fire; the symbol that her Jounin exams were upon her.

She never felt so hesitant, unsure in her life as she did now. This is it. This is the end of the line, time to go out and do what she had to do.

-0-0-0-

Ita was restless. She couldn't help but think about what her Clan would do in retaliation. She thought up a few possible scenarios: From midnight assaults to attempts at poisoning. Thinking about it only stressed her already tired mind out, but she simply couldn't bring herself to stop. What if he did... what if they tried too... what if they targeted Naruto instead of her? Questions just swirled through her mind that left her tiredly pacing around the apartment for much of the night.

She really needed a diversion, something to keep her mind from drifting back into those dark thoughts. Exploring the building was a nice idea. Her new home, and bunker, was still largely unknown to her. The kunoichi in her wouldn't let that little issue go unresolved for long.

The building was larger then she thought it was. With four floors and four apartments on each floor, the now Uzumaki woman busied herself with a quick search and evaluation. The first floor was unremarkable. Empty rooms with so much dust built up she coughed entering them. Second floor was a tiny bit more exciting when she had to forcibly eject a squatter from the building. The man had been rather upset, yelling disparaging remarks about her heritage before walking away. The third floor held the beginnings of a mystery for the dark haired Uzumaki...

Ita blinked, twisting the door knob and pushing. The door wouldn't budge an inch, which was strange. The material was a composite of cheap thin metal, strong by civilian standards. Against a Shinobi it was little more then an flimsy barrier if they put their minds to getting past it. She punched it a few times, surprised when she didn't so much as dent the surface.

'What the hell is this?' she frowned, placing her hand on the door. She concentrated, calming her mind as she tested a theory. There, beneath the surface. Subtle near non-existent chakra pathways had been etched into the door, indicative of a common Fuuinjutsu she knew of vaguely. The jutsu had no true name, it had originally been a by product of other, more comprehensive Fuuinjutsu being layered across a surface. She preferred to think of it as a Seclusion art, Fuuinjutsu was esoteric and dangerous enough that true masters preferred seclusion.

'But who would pick here of all places to practice Fuuinjutsu, and why?' Ita frowned thoughtfully, possibilities coming and going with out any standing out to her as feasible. Irregardless, whoever did it had invested a significant amount of time in their work. Fuuinjutsu was a tasking process that required hours of work to craft even the simplest of Seal Arrays.

Ita was curious, very much so. She passed her hand over the connecting wall, tracing the soft undercurrents of chakra as she went. There, a subtle break in the chakra flow. It was small, roughly the size of a pen head. But that made it the weakest point in the chakra construct, breeching here would be easier then anywhere else.

She backed up, carefully examining the surrounding area. One quick controlled Katon burst should be enough to bypass the barrier. She would have to be careful her flames died as soon as they had done their job. Burning down her new home the first night she lived there wouldn't be a good idea.

She flashed through a series of hand seals. Halfway through something flashed to her right, bodily slamming her to the ground. Instincts took over for the Once-Uchiha as she rolled with the unknown attacker, kicking up and throwing the man off her. She kicked up and lunged as the man slammed into the wall... then erupted in a burst of smoke.

"Whoa!" A sudden voice from behind startled her. She glared back, letting that sudden tension in her belly relax slightly.

She snarled angrily, "Just what the hell do you think you're doing? Don't you know how dangerous it is to interrupt some one mid-seal? I could have lost control and caused an explosion!"

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Yeah, sure. And if you had blown through that wall the Seal Array would have gone thermal! You would have fried us all to a crisp you stupid bitch!"

"Seal Array...?" Ita repeated, eyebrow raised, "What on earth is a Seal Array doing here?"

Naruto shrugged, "You'll have to talk to the boss about that; he'd go batshit crazy if he found out I told you about it."

The wife of Naruto blinked, "Wait... you're a clone? Where's Naruto?"

"Duh!" the clone chirruped, "Boss is still asleep."

Ita stared in horror.

The clone blinked, nervously shifting, "Uh... something wrong?"

"You... how... he's still asleep!" Ita snapped, "How could he summon you? When?"

The clone stared, then shrugged, "Eh... it's no big deal, I mean, can't your Kage Bunshin summon themselves too?"

Ita just stared.

-0-0-0-

Kurenai pressed her lips together, spreading the lipstick out evenly. Satisfied with the state of her appearance; Dead fucking sexy, she quietly left the bathroom and stopped by the bed. She admired Anko's naked body for a moment, grinning slightly at the wonderful memories from last night before. Counter to her friend's wild appearance while awake, Anko looked every bit the angel asleep. Where her face was normally set in a twisted little smile, while she slept she looked every bit like a peaceful content little house cat as she curled up in her blankets. It was too cute in her opinion. She honestly debated about leaving her friend alone rather then waking her up. If she wouldn't throw such a temper tantrum later she just might have.

"Anko..." the red-eyed kunoichi murmured, gently squeezing her nose shut. In short order the woman snapped awake with a gasp for air, instinctually pulling her head back and breaking Kurenai's grasp.

"Damn it!" Anko hissed, "The hell?" with a withering glare, "What the holy fuck was that for?"

Kurenai raised an eyebrow. "My my, so vulgar early in the morning, I'm shocked Anko. Truly shocked."

Anko just stared.

"Missive can by this morning, I'm being called to the tower. Didn't want to leave with out at least telling you why you'd be waking up alone this morning." Kurenai quickly explained even as she walked to the door.

"Bah." Anko grumped, twisting over the bed trying to get comfortable, "Good luck with the exam babe, I'm rootin for ya."

"Thanks, try to tidy up before you leave will you?" the red eyed kunoichi murmured, shutting the door.

-0-0-0-

Naruto had been dreaming. At least he thought so, but couldn't honestly remember what it had been about. He might have tried to remember, but coming awake mid flight was hardly a contribution to such efforts. He grimaced, forcing his as of yet unawake muscles to function as he flipped over. Landing off balanced, he teetered over before falling on his rump. "Oi! What the hell?"

"RUN BOSS! SHE'S GONE THERMAL!" he heard himself yell. Eyes snapping up, he saw his wife dispatching a slew of clones, making decent headway in his direction. He idly thought his Bunshin very brave to face Ita's not so inconsiderable wrath to protect him, but it was honestly to early to be dealing with this shit. With a quick thought, his Bunshin dissipated into smoke.

Free of their grip, the woman that was his wife lunged at him, tackling him to the floor before straddling him. She gripped his shirt and began shaking him. "You! What the hell is this! Seal arrays! Bunshin that can summon themselves! Answer me twerp, or I swear I'll end your short miserable life here and now!"

He glanced up calmly, red sharingan eyes meeting his own. "Yeah, good morning to you too, babe."

Eyes narrowing, Ita hissed, "Don't you dare start with me, Naruto-koi." for all the sweetness in her voice, Naruto knew a snake when he heard one. And she was pure venom. "Now answer me, why are there Seal Arrays here?"

Naruto frowned. How to answer, how to answer. He would probably be beating himself for this later, but right now he needed to calm her down. "That's... look, get the hell off me."

"Not before you tell me, damn you!" she shook him roughly, as if to prove her point.

"Kami, it's the only thing that keeps me calm!" he all but shouted in her face.

Ita glared, "Explain." she let him go, but if she intended to move off him she didn't show it. That was fine, he honestly didn't care.

"Look Ita..." he sighed tiredly, "... I... uh, bleah. I've got brain damage." She raised an eyebrow at that. He was a little annoyed at the vindication flashing in her eyes, bitch probably already suspected as much. "Before you laugh, I'm damn serious."

"What kind of 'Brain damage'." she asked in that oh so annoying no nonsense tone of voice.

"The kind you get by being mentally raped by Genjutsu for months on end, that kind." Naruto breathed tiredly, "And save your damn pity, no one cared when it happened, no one tried to help cept the Old man, so no one has the right to feel sorry for me."

If Ita believed him at all, she didn't show, "What are you talking about?"

"Seven... I was seven. I don't remember too much about it." now that was a bold faced lie, and he knew it showed on his face, "But I ended up in the hospital because of it. It..." he tapped his head, "... screwed some things up. Can't stop thinking, picking up facts about everything and nothing, y'know? If I do, I get really sick."

"So you picked up Fuuinjutsu?" she didn't believe him, but he didn't care. It was the only explanation he was going to give on the matter.

"And why my Kage Bunshin can summon themselves at times." he added tiredly. Now that seemed to pause her. Naruto wondered what the girl had thought when she discovered his Bunshin could summon themselves. Really, Bunshin summoning themselves? Such thoughts lay madness.

Ita frowned, sliding off him and helping him back to his feet. "Sorry." she mumbled, half mortified, half sad.

Naruto just shrugged. The atmosphere was tense, and he really, truly didn't want to be here now that Ita looked, for all intents and purposes, like she just finished beating up a poor retarded kid. He cracked a secret grin as he headed into the rest room. Gullible girl.

-0-0-0-

Ita grimaced, slumping on the couch tiredly. She didn't pay her husband any attention as he dressed and took off for school, she really didn't want to deal with his annoyed grunts and glares at having to reveal something so personal to her, much less anyone. Did she believe him? Yes and no. Could Kage Bunshin's summon themselves? No, the idea was just plain silly, his explanation made sense. That she had never heard of him suffering some kind of Genjutsu cluster fuck didn't mean anything, in fact it only served to spur her to find out exactly what happened.

But Fuuinjutsu? His explanation had some appeal, she guessed, but that appeal only went so far. Seal Arrays, and if that little clone had been right, a counter-security breach seal designed to blow the building, and whatever was guarded by the seals, sky high? She wasn't a specialist in this particular art, but she had studied and learned enough to know it took decades of practice to build something as intricate as a Seal Array double counter security defense relay.

But what could she do about it, she wondered? Now was not the time to divide her attentions to that of her newly acquired clan, or the mysteries it held. If she expected to survive the week she had to focus on the politics of the clans, of countering her father and securing not only her right to continued existence, but of Naruto's as well. She sighed, the terrible strain settling heavily over her shoulders. No... now was not the time to delve into the mystery that was her husband.

She yawned, tired. Not that she could sleep now, there was no time for such simple pleasures. If what Sarutobi said was correct, she had mere hours before an emergency Clan Council would be held that would decide her fate. She glanced at the simple black dress she wore, the same dress she had worn to her 'wedding', and currently the only article of clothing she possessed. That would not do.

She sighed, making for the door. She'd need to buy a kimono at least. Something simple but elegant if she intended to rub elbows with the elite of the city. Opening the door she paused, eyeing the old woman standing there curiously. She was expertly dressed, a simple pink kimono that billowed around her appendages. She looked regal, every wrinkle a testament to her age and wisdom, with neutral calculating brown eyes that reminded her so much of the Uchiha Clan elders. Ita would had to have been blind, deaf, and dumb to not know who this woman was. Utatane Koharu, a Village Elder with almost as much Political power as the Hokage himself. She, along with Mitokado Homura form the Konoha Council were former teammates of the Third, they were known for their fair, if entirely ruthless council whenever the greater good for Konoha was at stake.

"Good morning, Lady Uzumaki." Koharu demurred, bowing slightly.

"Ah..." Ita steeled herself. She may no longer be an Uchiha, but she had been raised, and taught at least the pleasantries of court. She bowed, slightly lower then the woman did, "To you as well, Lady Utatane."

"The Hokage has bid me prepare you." she said simple, gesturing the woman to follow.

Ita did so, standing slightly behind and to the right of the woman as they moved. A sign of respect, and, supplication she knew.

"The council will be called in three hours." Koharu started simply, "As it stands, many of the Clan heads will not be present, electing instead for adjutants to preside over their affairs. You can be assured, however, that the Uchiha's and Hyuuga will be represented by the Clan heads. Given the nature of this meeting, it would not be far fetched to assume an immediate retaliation of some kind." they passed into the street, walking with slow measured paces as they moved deeper into the village.

Ita listened intently, failure to do otherwise could mean the death of her and her... husband. "However, as you no doubt know, there are protocols to maintain. Tradition will dictate your claim to have priority in council, we will use that to our benefit." Koharu smiled pleasantly, "But really, these are the least of your concerns."

"Oh? What do you mean, Lady Utatane?" she asked the woman carefully.

"Once denied, the Uchiha will seek other means of retribution. By blade or Law, they will find other ways to inconvience you." the Elder said simply, "I could not begin to guess what these alternative methods to strike at you may be, and thus can not provide specific means in which to counter them."

'Sounds like Uchiha-sama alright.' Ita spat mentally as they crossed into a tasteful store. She caught sights of the royal silks, the imperial designs, the noble attire. She raised an eyebrow questioningly at the Elder. For herself, Koharu seemed disinterested as she looked over the selection, eyes drifting ever so slowly to her own, less then regal attire.

"But first things first. One can not enter the lions den with out a little..." she chuckled softly, "... color to distract the beasts."

-0-0-0-

There was a sense of tension in the air when he entered school, almost tangible. Naruto looked around, but for the life of him couldn't sense just why he felt ill at ease. Kids milled around, chatting, joking, and generally being the children they were so early in the morning. Teachers moved, half shuffling, half dead on their feat as they tried to determine if it was still worth getting up in the morning for this crap. Nope, all pretty standard stuff.

He made for the cafeteria, patting his grumbling stomach. The last two days had been pretty fucked up, if he did say so himself. Getting beaten like a red headed step child, putting the finishing touches on a sentient chakra sword, getting married and... He frowned, scratching his head. Yeah, he was forgetting something, but what on earth...

A flash of red eyes.

'Oh.' Naruto grimaced. At once irritated and curious. He really had forgotten about Kurenai, which wasn't just weird, but unfathomable considering what she had done. Excitement at his impending assassination from the Uchiha wasn't enough to make him forget something like that, but some how he still had forgotten despite all that. That alone was... disconcerting.

"Naruto." he felt a hand on his shoulder, slim fingers gripping his shirt tightly. He glanced back with a frown, "Uke?"

A growl, angry and dark, "Do you have any idea what you've done?"

The Blond smirked lightly, "Well, brother-in-law, I guess I fucked your sister?" He was privately amused as Sasuke sputtered indignantly, cheeks slightly tingeing pink at the thought. He was impressed the affection deprived boy managed to shake that off with out missing a beat.

"Idiot! You've made yourself a target, the Clan is out for blood, they'll see you and Ita dead for this."

Naruto shrugged, "It's worth it."

"How?" The boy growled, "How is it worth it? You're both as good as dead!"

The blond barked a laugh, wrapping his arm around the annoyed Uchiha's shoulders, "Sasuke man, how is it not worth it? You do realize your sister's smoking hot, hard as nails, and more then stab happy when she gets worked up. How on earth could any red blooded male pass that up?"

"You... don't even care, do you?" Sasuke deadpanned, "You two, you're about to be murdered, and it doesn't even phase you, does it?"

"Hell no!" he grinned, "Do you have any idea how much of a rush this is? I swear, if you aren't in mortal danger then dating just isn't worth it."

A pair of girls, beautiful in their own right, sighed at them from across the hall. Sasuke ignored them, but Naruto frowned at that. Fangirls, he knew. One from each of their respective fan clubs...

He shook that thought off. "Bah, don't worry about it Sasuke. We aren't going to die." he grinned toothily, "And if we do, so what? At least I can't die a virgin anymore."

"Shut up." the dark haired boy snapped, grabbing him by his shirt. Naruto could feel Sasuke's hot breath blow across his face as the boy snarled. And, as ridiculous as it sounded, he couldn't help but catch those fan girls squeal and whisper 'Boys in love!'

That shit will not stand. Naruto smacked Sasuke's hands away, he broke free in a run through the cafeteria. Leaping up onto a table, he shouted, "Heya everyone! In case none of you know, I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I have an announcement to make!" he frowned, no one paying attention. "It involves a drastic affair that deals with me AND Uke! Er, Sasuke!" he crowed.

That did it. Large sections of the rather spacious cafeteria went silent. Those who didn't soon found themselves swamped by fangirls and gagged. Naruto was privately impressed by the Bondage Club, they really knew their stuff. He peered out at the gathering crowd. He could see the clear segregation between Sasuke's club, his own, various other clubs devoted to a particular match up amongst the student body (Usually Sasuke + Girl, but he didn't care), and then there were of course the 'Yaoi' pariahs huddling in their dark little corner.

Sasuke just glared at him, he could read the boys lips as he mouthed 'I'm going to kill you'. He thought that wasn't fair, he hadn't even done anything yet. Well, aside from his sister as far as he knew, whatever. He could see the faces of Sakura and Ino in the crowed, looking curious and, of course, annoyed. Well this should be fun... for him at any rate.

"Now I know what you're thinking. What could possibly have happened between me and Sasuke?" He began slowly, "Did we hook up? Have we come out of the closet and admitted to loving each other? Have we engaged in boy boy love?"

"We knew it!" The Yaoi freaks slithered from their dark corner, pale skinned and starved looking, wearing a mockery of clothing that Naruto had to admit did kind of make them look like him and Sasuke.

"Well that's not it, sorry." he snorted as the freaks went slithering back into the dark, wailing at the injustice of it all.

Naruto flipped a portrait to his hand some seemingly no wear. It was rather large, and left many wondering just where he had been hiding it. It was a simple portrait, of him and Ita standing on a dirt beaten trail, a calm blue crystalline lake in the back ground. Ita had her arm of his shoulder, smiling her slight smile at the camera, her ANBU sword resting comfortable against her other shoulder. The blond was there, hand around her waist, two fingers pointed up with a goofy looking grin on his face. "Well everyone, it was bound to happen sooner or later. I got married."

"NO!" his fan club screamed. Naruto was amused at the mortified look sweeping through their ranks. Ino and Sakura, amidst the crowd, openly rolled their eyes in plain disbelief. Sasuke shook in abject rage, but he ignored him. "Yes, it's true. This woman..." he stressed that word pointedly, "... is my wife. Uzumaki Ita. She's eighteen, a classic beauty that stands at 5'9, with a generous C-cup, and dimensions... that aren't any of your Kami damned business."

"I pains me to say this." He intoned solemnly, an obvious fake tear leaking from his eye, "But I couldn't do it! My girls, my wonderful loyal girls don't deserved to be lead around by the nose. Not after I've gone and gotten married." he glanced seriously at his hemorrhaging fan club, "You're my friends, and I love you all, I couldn't deceive you with this." he swept his arm out over the crowd, "But behold! There is a shining light in all this madness! My wife, Ita, was once part of the Uchiha clan! Know this, my loving fan club, should you marry Sasuke you'll be part of the family. And by the grace of your station, can take part in the clan wide orgies!" he chuckled, "Fun stuff, that."

Silence ripped through the crowd, broken only by Sasuke's maddening, angry scream, "I'LL KILL YOU!"

Like a great beast that had food dangled in it's maw, Naruto watched as his fan club turned, as one, to stare at the frothing mad Uchiha heir. Sasuke blinked, shuddering as so many hungry, mad filled eyes rounded on him. A moment of eternity, growls ripping through the crowd as Sasuke's fan club realized what was about to happen... and then all hell broke lose.

"SASUKE-KUN!" screamed one girl, lunging over the throng of students. But her actions were a signal, as girls everywhere began charging the poor bastard. Comically, the boy screamed as he ran like hell.

"Ah, yes." Naruto chuckled, stepping off his soap box. He watched his handiwork, the cafeteria emptying out except for small pockets of scared males huddling close for protection for the rabid fangirls clearing out enmass. Sakura and Ino just stared at the carnage with the type of shocked wide eyed wonder from some one who just realized they were gay.

He nodded. "Yep, job well done, if I do say so myself."

-0-0-0-

The Council Hall was it's own building, separate from any and all establishments linked to shinobi and the Hokage. Ita had been here before, once or twice, but never more as anything but an observer. Along one far wall was the Consulate, where the village Elders, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, sat and over saw the business of the Clans as they related to Konoha as a whole. There was a third Elder, a crippled old man with a missing eye, he was already in his seat when she stepped through the great doors to the inner sanctum. She knew little about him, only a name. Danzou.

She felt his gaze upon her the moment she stepped in. A momentary look that left her apprehensive. His look was guarded, controlled, with not the least bit hint of acknowledgement present, but even in his damaged frame there was a certain sense of strength there.

Ita grimaced inwardly. She didn't like that look, it was like a vultures, calm, calculating, and patient. Terribly patient as it waited for you to die so it could feast on your cooling remains.

From the Elders podiums rose a slightly elevated podium where Clan Heads or adjutants could speak on their Clans behalf. Stationed in a half crescent around the podium, large sections had been divided, finely crafted wood tables and chairs separated. These seats were reserved for the Clans, and there were many of them. How many even she didn't know, from Major clans to Minor and lesser, the numbers present were disorienting.

Koharu had left her, making her way to her seat of office. She appreciated the old woman immensely, her morning long sermon on the nuances of the clans, of politics and warfare, of considerations and the duplicity of these Political monsters. She had said "There is little different between War and Politics. Anyone who says otherwise has experience in neither."

She herself had taken a seat at a table reserved for those not of the Clans, but with business before the Council. It was towards the back, with slightly less impressive tables and seats. A calculated fact, she had no doubt, to instill a sense submission towards the Clans. She discreetly glanced around, examining the Clan Heads present, and those Clans who's adjutants had arrived to represent their interest while the Clan Heads were indisposed. She recognized many of them, all shinobi or kunoichi like herself. Idly she thought it strange, Inoichi of Yamanaka was not present, an almost foppish looking man in his place, yet Shikaku of Nara and even the Akamichi Clan Head, both teammates of his, were present.

Aside from them stood Tsume. The bestial, ferally attractive woman looked out of place in her Jounin vest and gear. The only woman Ita could see who wasn't wearing a Kimono, as if she didn't give a damn for the intricacies of court. Ita looked down at her own Kimono, bought and fitted just hours ago. It was a royal purple with black edges, soft silk held in place by a black obi tied expertly around her thin waste. Her hair had been left down, thought combed expertly and almost shimmering in the light. Koharu had implied the lack of any ornaments and delicate hair styles would impress a sense of humbleness that she was here only to see her Clan represented for the merits it contained and not as an overly ambitious ploy to gain power within the Council.

The thought was absurd to Ita at first, but after a few quite moments to herself she could understand the reasoning. Was the Council really no different from a mission? She didn't like to think about those missions that had required her to dress up, to play a role, to succeed by the graces of her speech and beauty rather then by sword and steel. It always felt wrong to her, uncomfortable and dangerous on a level she could not quite comprehend.

Why was she thinking about that now she wondered? Ita only had to discreetly glance around to realize the truth of the matter. Much like her, everyone here was watching everyone else, gauging them, questioning their presence and their motives. Now that she had realized that, she knew why she felt so apprehensive and out of place. All eyes were on her, watching her, dissecting her and examining everything she did. She forced herself to remain calm, to remain impassive and non committal. Koharu had warned her, even the simplest of gestures could give you away, and were to be guarded against at all times. Really, she could appreciate the woman's view on war and politics, they went hand in hand.

She caught sight of a man, dressed in regal white with long black hair. She admired his features, taunt and limber as he moved through the concord of nobles and Clansmen. He was some one she knew, if only through reputation. Hyuuga Hiashi, undisputed ruler of the Hyuuga clan, and the Uchiha's primary opponent in the Great Hall. He didn't look at her, at least directly, but that didn't surprise her. With only the soft rustling of robes he took his seat in the hall, flanked by two older Hyuuga, advisors if she had to guess, who kept their heads lowered in subservience.

A dark flourish rustled past her, she glanced and grimaced despite herself. Lips twisted into a half snarl, she caught the flash of charcoal black eyes, the haunty face of the man who was once her father. He didn't look at her directly as he moved past her, he didn't need to. There was a contempt and anger present in those deep guarded orbs she couldn't miss, whether due to her personal knowledge of the man or her experience as a shinobi, she knew the distaste that rolled off him was as real as the danger she and Naruto were in now.

Tsume caught her glance, a rather amused smile on her thin lips. Ita cursed herself a fool. The elder Inuzuka had no doubt caught her disgusted look, and if she did then others certainly had to as well. It only served to remind her that, despite all her prowess, this was one arena she was ill suited. She only prayed she had enough mettle to see this through, for herself and for her husband. Failure would only mean a quick, hopefully painless, death for the both of them. If they were lucky... she didn't put much stock in luck.

A chime, soft and melodious echoed. Koharu set down a small gavel as the note subsided, Clansmen everywhere falling into their seats as a surreal silence took hold. Elegant, poised and in complete control, the old woman rose from her seat. "Council of Clans." she smiled, friendly, platonic, "We are met this day, high season of the burning summer by the grace and will of the Kami's."

"By Grace and Will." there was a soft reverence as the word was repeated. The voice of the clans, as one combining into a dull roar that echoed terribly through the Hall. "Bring forth new considerations." the woman intoned, but Ita caught the sharp look sent her way. She doubted anyone else had seen it, even she wouldn't have if the woman hadn't coached her prior to their attendance here.

She reached the gravel on her desk, softly knocking against the bell adorning the head of the table. A similar chime echoed through the assembly. Homura, the other teammate of the Fourth, glanced at her through his thick glasses. Ita was slightly awed, he was so much like Koharu, his eyes spoke of a depth and degree only the truly wise possessed. He raised his hand sharply, "Rise and be recognized."

Demurely Ita stood, smoothing out the slight wrinkles in her Kimono. "Ita, wife of Uzumaki, wishes an accord with the Council of Clans."

If she expected dark mutterings, hateful insults, she was sorely disappointed. Everyone, even her despicable father, remained silent. They watched her like a hawk, ancient and experienced eyes examining every gesture, every tensing of muscle, everything about her. For a moment she felt naked under their gazes, reminded once again how out of her depths she was here.

"Be welcome Ita, wife of Uzumaki, and speak your business."

"By his Grace and Will, I have come before you to receive my rightful due." Ita breathed, her tone nothing but respectful. "Charter signed and ratified by this very Council, the Uzumaki clan has come to claim it's promised seat, as set forth by our coming of age."

"Coming of Age?" Danzou mumbled, voice low but deafening in it's totality. "Has the Uzumaki clan truly come of age?"

"It has." she demurred.

"Really..." the old man seemed unconvinced, "Are you certain? Coming of Age, such an important and revered passing. Are you really ready the accept the mantle of adulthood, and the responsibilities it pertains to?"

"Were we not, my lord, I would not be here this day among the honored Council of Clans." Ita remained passive, calm. Inwardly she was nervous and off balance. Koharu had assured her this was merely a formality, merely a statement and a nod to accept the charter and be given their rightful place. She couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right, that something was happening beneath her very nose.

"I see." Danzou nodded, almost bored looking. "Then rise and be welcome, Clan Uzumaki. As set forth by Law and Grace, take your seat and be recognized."

Ita marveled as a table, expertly crafted and decorated, was carried in and set within the half circle of minor Clans. By obvious practiced protocol, a rather handsome man in a grey Kimono appeared next to her, offering his arm. She took it, allowing herself to be led down to her new station. She had only just taken her seat when she caught the dangerous, almost guarded look from Koharu. Something was wrong, even the old woman could see it, but just what had yet to be revealed.

"Considerations met, business concluded." Koharu intoned, her bell chiming softly as she sat back down. Ita wasn't surprised as another bell chimed.

"Rise and be welcome, Fukagu, Leader of Uchiha." Homura's words beckoned the man to speak.

Fukagu rose slowly, almost hesitantly. Ita could just imagine the cold realization ripping through him at that moment. His plans, the means he had been relying on to strike out at her and Naruto, had been silenced. What would he do now she wondered? What could he do?

-0-0-0-

"It is a quiet thing, to fall." Koharu murmured. Ita grimaced, even as the seamstress tightened her omai around her thin waist. "Yet, terribly still, is the echoes left behind."

Ita just looked at the woman.

Koharu looked amused, "Should the blood hunt be called, you and yours will be exterminated. Your deaths will be ignoble, and with out purpose... but for the echo's left behind." she smiled, a sad melancholy smile that spoke of deep experience, "All things leave echoes. A word, a choice, an agreement. These echoes will wash through the clans, and it will mean the death of the Uchiha."

She froze, blinking, "What? What do you mean?"

The Elder just looked at her, pointed stare that radiated a profound sense of loss, "What do I mean? Like any great beast, the Uchiha can not turn their guard from the other clans. Exterminating even yours, no matter how insignificant, will force the beast to turn it's attention from the others. The Clans, lesser beasts that they are, will take advantage of this. They will bite, they will rend, they will tear into the Uchiha Clan. Each strike will create more echoes that will in turn resonate with your death echoes, until all that's left is a death that will take decades to come."

"I... don't understand." And she didn't. This was a profound explanation that took a life time of experience to understand.

"I suppose you would not." Koharu shrugged, "To the point, Fukagu will not exterminate you after your clan has been accepted. As loath as he is to let you live, to exterminate you will break the clan. They will, in time, lose everything. Once the fall has started, there is no stopping it." she smiled, a pleasant thing that did nothing to calm the apprehensive confusion she felt, "But that is neither the here nor there. Be mindful of echo's, the can topple even the greatest of peoples."

-0-0-0-

Fukagu smiled.

Ita felt her blood run cold at that smile.

"My appreciation to the Council of Clans, your prompt attendance at my Clan's plight leaves me humbled." he spoke, that victorious smile never once leaving his lips. She caught sight of Tsume shaking her head, irritation obvious. The way he said those words, it was like he whistled and the dogs came running to his beck and call. It was also, Ita realized, precisely his intent.

"A plight you say?" Danzou looked at the man with his one eye.

"Elder Danzou." Fukagu bowed, "Yes, a plight. In violation of Clan doctrine as set forth by the First, the Uchiha have been betrayed by one of their own. A woman, strong in our bloodline, has abandoned her duties and joined with another."

"Truly?" Ita would have rolled her eyes if she could. Danzou sounded sincerely surprised, "Such an act... this is a serious charge. Who is it that would so brazenly violate the Firsts written law?"

"My lord, it is none other then Lady Uzumaki herself."

Danzou looked at her. Ita felt her gut twist and clench at the pointed stare. He turned back to Fukagu, "And you seek retribution? Perhaps compensation for this slight?"

"No, I do not." Fukagu shook his head. Ita caught the surprised look on Tsume before the woman could expertly conceal her shock. Hiashi closed his eyes, and took a deep, audible breath, but otherwise did not react.

"If you seek nothing due to you by our Laws, why have you called this assembly?" Danzou looked irritated, his tone almost dangerous, "To waste the time of this hallowed Council is a grave insult, Fukagu of Uchiha."

"My lord." Fukagu nodded, "My clan has been slighted, but it was by my own daughter this insult was made. I simply, before this great house, wish to ask a question of her."

"Speak it then." Danzou waved the man off, clearly disinterested.

"Why did you marry him, my lady? Tell me, before this assembly of peers and Clans, why you abandoned our Clan to join with his?" Fukagu's words were soft, almost imploring and desperate. Ita wasn't fooled, Koharu had warned her precisely of such things. Many were the nations influenced simply by the tone of some ones voice, this was no different.

Ita rose, trying to collect her thoughts. What could she say? The truth? Certainly not, such an admission would only earn her the scorn of the other clans, and leave an avenue her despicable father could exploit. But then what? What could she...

"Do you love him, Ita?" Fukagu looked at her. For an instance, she saw warmth there. A warmth and love she hadn't seen in so many years, it shocked her. She could feel her tongue twisting, trying to wrestle itself free to respond, to say something to the man and his questions. It surprised her, how much emotion such a simple question and look could inspire within her.

She didn't even consider her words as she answered, "Yes, I love him."

"I see." Fukagu nodded, that warmth and love she saw in his eyes vanishing as if it had never been. "Then I will validate that love before our peers and the Clans. I call forth the Continued Generations Act, to assure the slight against my family was done out of the noble notion of love. Give us this much, and we will consider the matter settled."

Nothing could keep the Clans silent now. A roar tore through the clans, angry words, shocked and surprised, condemning and accepting. It flew by in a torrent, and through it all Ita watched Fukagu as he stood amidst the chaos he had created, still smiling that... damn... smile!

"Silence." Danzou roared, his voice, so weak and unassuming, commanding the great assembly to silence. He looked at Fukagu first, before turning on her, "Is this acceptable to you, Lady Uzumaki?"

In a voice filled with confidence she in no way felt, even as she asked the question she felt her blood run cold, "Forgive my ignorance, Elder, but what exactly is the Continued Generations Act?"

"Hmm?" he looked amused, "You truly do not know? How surprising." he smiled, an amused almost sinister smile that did not ease her fears one iota, "It is as it sounds, an act that will require you to, within three years hence, to breed a child with your husband and assure the continuance of your clan."

Naruto's words from last night came back to her, haunting in it's severity and clarity.

-0-0-0-

"Some people are actually going to want us to make like rabbits, I mean who wouldn't want the power of the Kyuubi to mix with the Sharingan?"

Ita frowned even as she fell into a comfy armchair, "What they want, and what's going to happen are two different things." she snorted, "Besides, it's not like they can force us."

"Can't they?"

-0-0-0-

He had known it could come to this. There was no other way, no other explanation, it left a terrible chill echoing down to her very soul. She desperately tried to think, tried to come up with something to refute or abolish this absurdity. Ita frowned, "My lord, my husband is but a child. He... is not ready for such things."

"Is he not?" Danzou blinked, "But, my lady, did you not come before this assembly and declare before all present that you were ready to take your seat? Did you not accept, with your own words, the responsibility entailed in coming of Age?"

Ita all at once realized what Koharu had meant by echoes. Her accepting of the Clan Seat, her words to Danzou earlier, it had created an echo. One her despicable father had picked up on and turned against her. Had this been planned from the very beginning, she wondered? Or had she, simply, been outwitted on a field of battle she was ill prepared to fight on?

It didn't matter.

"I understand." she bowed low, "And will obey."

-0-0-0-

AN: Been awhile, eh? Yeah, yeah. I'm a horrible person, so what. I bring this segment to you, introducing politics I have alluded to here and there. A fine mess Ita has found herself in, eh? She was so out of her depth there was simply no way she could win this one.

As for Kurenai, well, her jounin exam will take place next chapter, as well as other things. Anyway, enjoy.


End file.
